Boogie boards and inflatable boats on Sunset Boulevard after water main bursts

[steve2470]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/30/millions-of-gallons-of-water-flood-ucla/

Millions of gallons of water spewed from a burst 93-year-old water pipe under Sunset Boulevard, flooding the University of California at Los Angeles campus and surrounding areas Tuesday, according to officials. In the aftermath of the more than 3-hour deluge, about an inch of water still stood in the school’s sports arena.

The 30-foot geyser sprayed 8 to 10 million gallons of water from a 15-foot-wide hole before it was finally shut off, city officials told the Los Angeles Times, leaving cleanup crews armed with squeegees and water vacuums to rid the university’s Pauley Pavilion of water and mud. The building underwent a multimillion-dollar face lift in 2012, the paper said.

“Unfortunately UCLA was the sink for this water source,” university chancellor Gene Block said, according to the Associated Press.

After the flooding began, authorities swarmed the campus. Tractors dumped mounds of dirt onto the ground in an effort to redirect water away from buildings. Water reached the height of most cars’ wheelwells. Police evacuated nearby parking garages. And firefighters, some using inflatable boats, rescued at least five people stranded in structures where their vehicles were stuck, according to news reports.

[B Calm]

1. and California is in a deep drought. .

[Skidmore]

2. 93-year-old pipe that was last repaired 68 years ago...

that was what the man said on the early ABC news article this morning. Then he went on to add that there were lots of problems with the water system but they couldn't be repaired "without bankrupting the citizens." When will communities learn that you maintain in increments so you don't have to experience blowouts in infrastructure that are costly? I would wager that conscientous maintenance and systematic rolling upgrades would have been much cheaper than what will have to be done now.

[steve2470]

3. I agree

"take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves" comes to mind.

[B Calm]

4. 121 Billion Dollars in foreign aid to Israel to blow up schools, hospitals and

kill innocent Gaza civilians in our name, all while our infrastructure crumbles!