Residents of Valley Vista Cleaning Up After Water Main Break

All day Tuesday, work crews in the 14800 block of Valley Vista Boulevard were cleaning up the mud and mess caused by a broken water main that flooded the street on Sunday.

"The pipe burst about 2 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, and in no time at all the street was flooded with about 2 to 3 inches of water," said Mort Postel, a resident of the street, which was inundated with hundreds of gallons of water.

Postel said two houses seemed to get the worst of it. He pointed to the home at 14845 Valley Vista, where the walk in front of the home was still caked with mud and a layer of mud extended to the steps and walkway leading to the front door.

"There's about $10,000 damage," said George Barany of ASR Construction, the company hired to do the repair work and cleanup at the modest two-story house.

Next door, at 14839 Valley Vista, a woman came out to the front and said, "My pool is completely filled with mud. I've got a crew back there working on it. It's a mess." The woman declined to give her name and would not allow Patch to photograph the pool and backyard area.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power explained what happened Sunday.

"An 8-inch-pipe below the street ruptured, it's an underground water main," said Maychelle Yee of the DWP.

"Valley Vista Boulevard is on a hill, so the water also went down into the yards of houses on the next street below," she added.

Residents of two homes in the 14800 block of Sutton Street also reported that their backyards were flooded.

"In all, four homes and one swimming pool were the ones most affected by the flooding," Yee said. "We still don't know what caused the problem. It could be the age of the pipe, or corrosion, or maybe the impact of cars on the street above it."

The DWP sent out claims department staffers to photograph the damage and talk to homeowners about compensation.

"Our claims people went out to speak with the people who were affected by the water, and we will be following up with them," Yee said.

About 40 customers were without water during the incident, but service was restored at about 9 p.m. Sunday. No injuries were reported.