Drought Policy and Flooding Streets in LA

While residents ration water for lawn-watering, Los Angeles has experienced double the breaks in water mains as in previous years. The breaks have destroyed streets and flooded businesses, leaving many looking for answers.

1 minute read

September 29, 2009, 1:00 PM PDT

By Alek Miller


"One break caused a street cave-in whose resulting hole partly swallowed a fire truck sent in response. Some have occurred on major thoroughfares, the latest Monday morning at one of the city's busiest intersections, in the Miracle Mile area, that caused delays that might have been worse had it not been for Yom Kippur, which kept traffic down.

Since Sept. 1, there have been 43 breaks that have flooded or damaged streets, compared with 21 in September 2008, 17 in September 2007 and 13 in September 2006."

Monday, September 28, 2009 in The New York Times

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