When fires ravaged the Los Angeles area last week, the Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty and under renovation. Firefighters quickly ran out of water.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he would launch an independent investigation by the state into the lack of water pressure in the reservoir and the unavailability. He ordered the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to conduct a “comprehensive evaluation” of its efforts to provide water in an emergency.
Officials said that the Palisades Fire started on Tuesday, January 7. By 3 am, three tanks of 1 million-gallon capacity in Pacific Palisades were empty due to an ” extremely high demand“. The wind gusts of over 100 miles an hour prevented the air support from being able to help douse the fires with other sources of water.
We had a huge demand on our Palisades system. In a Wednesday press conference, DWP chief executive and chief engineering Janisse Quinones stated that the system was pushed to its limits. “Four-times the normal demand for 15 straight hours lowered our pressure.”
What we know so far about the reservoir’s role in the Palisades Water Supply System
Why was Santa Ynez Reservoir emptied when the fires started?
In a announcement, the DWP stated that the reservoir had been taken out of service in order to “meet safety drinking water regulations”. Los Angeles Times reported that a tear in the cover of the reservoir made it vulnerable to contamination. The agency drained the reservoir in February.
The release stated that the water system for the Pacific Palisades and Los Angeles as a whole met all federal and California fire codes regarding urban development and housing.
CBS News did not receive any further responses from DWP. The statement from the agency suggested that part of the reason the reservoir had been empty for almost a year is because the company hired to do the repairs was not able to complete the work.
The statement stated that “to commission the support to implement repairs in Santa Ynez by LADWP, the city charter requires a competitive bidding process. This takes time.”
Some social media users claimed falsely that the reservoir had been empty for more than a decade. They cited satellite images as evidence. In 2011, a floating lid was placed on the reservoir, changing its appearance in satellite images. However, the reservoir was put back into service in 2011 according to DWP website.
Could the reservoir help combat the fires?
According to documents, the reservoir will be used to store water “for domestic purposes and firefighting purposes” in Pacific Palisades.
DWP claims that it is conducting its own “water resilience” investigation. Experts and officials agree, however, that the severity of wildfires could have affected the city’s supply of water regardless of the Santa Ynez Reservoir being full.
Newsom stated in his letter to DWP that “While local fire hydrants do not have the capacity to put out wildfires across large areas, the loss of water from fire hydrants may have affected efforts to protect homes and evacuation routes.”
David Freyberg PhD, an hydrologist and specialist in water resources at Stanford University told CBS News via email that while a Santa Ynez full would have been beneficial, it is not clear what impact it would’ve had.
He wrote that the reservoirs over Pacific Palisades weren’t designed to fight fires of this size. “Water reservoirs are designed for house fires and not wildfires.”
He said that the current situation is a clear indication that more comprehensive solutions are needed.
Freyberg stated that “it is obvious that communities at risk of wildfires will need to rethink the design criteria for systems.” Not just reservoirs but also pipe sizes and pressure management.
