The January fires that cleaned up Altadena and the Pacific Ocean destroyed not only thousands of homes, but also some of the water and sewer systems that served them.
The smaller water system was hit hardest, according to a survey by UCLA researchers released Thursday. In Altadena, for example, the burning area covered 79% of the Rubiocagnon Land and Water Assun service area and 88% of the territory of Las Flores Water.
In comparison, less than 5% of Water and Power’s service areas in Los Angeles were affected. DWP serves approximately 4 million people. Las Flores supplies less than 5,000.
“These fires tested the physical and financial limitations of water infrastructure,” said Gregory Pierce, co-director of UCLA’s Ruskin Innovation Centre. “We need to think about not only fixing pipes, but redesigning systems and supporting more integrated, more equitable and resilient groups to the next crisis.”
Paris High School will rest across the street from a home destroyed by the Palisade fire in Pacific Palisade on January 8th.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Researchers at the Luskin Center for Innovation analyzed how the fire affected the water system with researchers from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and consulting firm Stantec. They examined the effects of the Palisade and Eaton fires on 11 community water systems, two sewer systems, and thousands of private wells and cleanup systems in Roun County.
There are approximately 200 community water systems in LA County, most of which serve less than 1,000 customers.
“Small, but sometimes medium-sized systems generally have financial capacity challenges,” Pierce said. “And they get worse when you have to rebuild a significant portion of the system and you’re not making any revenue during that time.”
He noted that three small systems (Ras Flores, Rubiocagnon and Lincoln Avenue Water) have recently united in an announcement about their post-fire efforts.
“Recovery is ongoing and the fire has sparked critical conversations about the resilience of drinking water and wastewater systems,” the researchers wrote in the report. “Local, state and federal support is essential to ensure that future systems are adaptable and financially sustainable.”
The researchers also assessed the demographics of affected communities.
Areas where the water system is primarily damaged have incomes higher than the average in LA County, with a higher percentage of homeowners and a lower percentage of tenants than the average of county. While most systems provide primarily white populations, some water systems affected by the Eton Fire provide a much larger area of Black residents than the average of 8% in the county, including Ras Flores (37%), Lincoln Avenue (30%), and Rubio Canyon (11%).
The report notes that small water suppliers such as Las Flores and Lincoln Avenue have limited access to funds to help rebuild the system.
“While federal and state funding could close the emergency and recovery gaps, local and local systems could be financially self-reliant on repair payments, if not perfect,” the researcher said in the report. “On the other hand, some of these same systems are recovering much less revenue than typical given customer base dislocation.”
The affected systems had a fairly high moisture content prior to the fire based on the cost of providing services, Pierce said.
“The only direction these fees will go in the future is to go up in rebuilding,” Pierce said. “So I’m not sure what they’re saying about the water affordability standards in these regions, or whether they just need to accept fees, or not, that’s the cost of service.”
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