The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plans to hire an independent engineer to assess whether an empty reservoir contributed to the failure of its water system during the Palisades Fire, when water supplies and some hydrants ran dry after hours of intense firefighting.
The 117-million-gallon Santa Ynez reservoir, located adjacent to the Palisades Highlands neighborhood, was emptied in early 2024 after a tear was discovered in its rubber-like protective cover. The decision to drain it has been the subject of speculation and criticism by fire victims furious it was left dry.
“So, what is the explanation for this?,” demanded Sayed Koshani at Tuesday’s Board of Water and Power Commissioners meeting in Downtown Los Angeles, where he said his home had been destroyed.
“There’s been no explanation offered to the people of the Palisades, whose houses burned down!,” he said, and suggested the DWP’s General Manager and CEO resign.
The head of the DWP’s water system, Assistant General Manager Anselmo G. Collins, told the Board the reservoir analysis was somewhat more complicated than simply whether or not it was full, and said DWP would contract with an expert for a review.
“Even if the repairs to the Santa Ynez reservoir had been completed before the fires, it is unclear whether or not the additional water would have made much of a difference,” Collins said.
“We’re engaging with experts to attempt to model the impact of the additional water, that would have been in this reservoir, but it is a complicated analysis,” he said.
Collins said that’s because the inability to deliver water during the first hours of the Palisades Fire had much to do with the lack of water pressure in the system, which hampered pumping and other efforts to replenish the supply. That drained the trio of million-gallon hilltop storage tanks, which typically feed the Palisades neighborhoods.
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He said adding to the immense demand from firefighters that day were an increasing number of destroyed properties where supply lines were burned or broken and water flowed out uncontrolled, further reducing pressure.
Other officials at the meeting said the DWP was cooperating with a separate state investigation of the water system failure.
Collins said the restoration of water service to the buildings, businesses, and homes still standing in the Palisades was progressing, with the first of nine zones expected to restored within a week. That’s pending water quality tests that had to be approved by the state.
Electric service to the Palisades was also being restored as allowed by Cal Fire, said Assistant General Manager David Hanson.
Hanson said it appeared DWP’s equipment and lines did not cause the fire.
“We have no reason to believe that our facility or equipment was involved in the ignition of the fire,” he said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is leading the investigation into the origin and cause of the Palisades fire, and a spokesperson for its National Response Team did not immediately respond to questions about whether electrical equipment had been ruled out.