In Focus
In the Trenches: Inside the Multi-Front Sunset Blvd. Incident Response
By Mia Rose Wong and Vanessa Lopez
In the quiet pre‑dawn at around 4:00 AM, at the intersection of Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard, the street gave a subtle shudder before a sudden blast of water punched through the asphalt. Within minutes, those spurts turned into a heavy, surging rupture as a section of a century-old, 36-inch riveted steel trunk line gave way.
LADWP water crews immediately rolled out to the scene, triggering a rapid chain reaction of emergency calls across executive leadership: Interim General Manager David W. Hanson and Chief Resiliency and Emergency Officer Zoraya Oliver-Griffin activated the Department Emergency Operations Center (DEOC), Chief Customer Officer Joseph Ramallo initiated crisis communications protocols and customer support resources, and operational heads, including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Assistant General Manager of the Water System Anselmo Collins, mobilized their respective teams. Before sunrise, a massive, multi-divisional choreography was underway.
While the public view of an emergency response is often defined by heavy excavators and hard-hatted crews on site, an operation of this magnitude also relies on dozens of “silent heroes” working behind the scenes. More than 250 Department staff members across multiple divisions, including Water System, Office of Emergency Management, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Communications and Community Affairs, Claims, Customer Service, Power and many others, were deployed throughout the nine-day effort, proving that repairing a major water break is as much an organizational and logistical triumph as it is a physical fix.
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“When a major infrastructure event occurs, what the public sees is only one piece of the puzzle. Behind the scenes are hundreds of dedicated staff—from waterworks engineers, customer service representatives, and fleet drivers to IT and telecommunications specialists and emergency response teams—working in lockstep around the clock. The sheer depth of our in-house expertise is what allowed us to stabilize and resolve this incident as quickly and safely as possible.”
David W. Hanson, Interim General Manager
The Behind-the-Scenes Response: Synchronization Across Divisions
A major water incident ripples through an entire community, requiring specialized operational support far beyond pipe repair.
Office of Emergency Management
At the start of the incident, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) established a solid framework that would support the multi-day response. OEM staff activated the new Department Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) and set up coordination there as the central hub for the crisis response. They expertly managed Department resources and ensured the timely flow of information between LADWP divisions and across partner agencies. Staff that deployed to the field helped facilitate interagency collaboration with local partners including the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Police Department, and City of West Hollywood. OEM saw the response through from the first moment of the response to the last, also leading the Department’s after-action review process with corrective actions to ensure continuous learning and improvement.
Water Distribution Division
From the moment the trunk line gave way, the primary focus was site stabilization and safety. Crews worked methodically to close large underground valves to isolate the break. Operating a highly pressurized system requires crews to turn valves slowly and carefully to prevent pressure surges and other damage elsewhere in the pipe grid before beginning intricate underground excavation. To sustain round-the-clock operations in the summer heat, field leadership established a mobile command trailer as an operational hub at the site of the incident, alongside blue shading tents to offer crews and staff essential shelter during brief breaks.
Claims Division
Knowing the concerns by residents about submerged vehicles and flooded underground garages, Claims representatives set up an on-site contact hub directly on Palm Avenue. To ensure no resident was overlooked, representatives proactively went door-to-door through surrounding neighborhoods—navigating dark, tight, constrained spaces in areas experiencing temporary power outages to assist property owners and business operators directly.
Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
This dynamic response required all-hands-on-deck. Multiple divisions within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) including Supply Chain, Security, Facilities, Fleet Services and a newly formed Logistics team worked in tandem to support incident operations and provide customer assistance.
These teams facilitated rapid emergency procurement, material distribution and heavy equipment operation; ensured food, water and logistical support for field and DEOC personnel; led street cleanup and restoration activities; and worked with the City of West Hollywood to set up traffic controls. Beyond supporting vital Department functions, CAO teams were integral to customer assistance efforts, securing timely lodging for displaced residents and delivering over 8,000 bottles of water to frontline crews and customers experiencing low water pressure.
Keeping the Public Informed Around the Clock
When emergency infrastructure events impact daily life, information is as vital to public safety as the physical repairs. Operating on continuous rotations, the Communications and Community Affairs team established a steady rhythm to keep residents, business owners, regional news outlets, public officials and our LADWP employees updated in real time. Knowing that all eyes were on the Department, the team’s goal was to provide timely and accurate information, correcting misinformation, supporting stakeholder safety and ensuring that customers understood the complexity of the situation and the unconditional commitment of the LADWP staff to complete the job and do it right.
Throughout the nine-day effort, the team published over 120 dedicated social media posts, authored multiple news releases shared via LADWPNews.com, produced videos, took countless photos, managed continuous media inquiries, coordinated on-scene media interviews and ensured one-voice communications across the Department and externally.
Click on each image below to view some of the shared multimedia content.
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High-Tech Situational Awareness in the Field
While field crews excavated below street level, Information Technology Services (ITS) rapidly deployed Starlink satellite systems, establishing high-reliability telecommunications. This critical technology infrastructure established seamless connectivity between personnel in the field and those at the DEOC, making it possible for staff to hold strategy meetings via Microsoft Teams, rapidly retrieve and transmit reports and data, affording quick response pivots when needed, write press releases, and share video and photo content from the worksite.
Specialized engineers from Water Engineering Technical Services (WETS) also played a pivotal role by establishing three live-feed camera systems directly at the rupture site. These cameras broadcasted live video directly into the DEOC and the mobile command trailer, giving emergency responders real-time visibility as conditions evolved.
"Agile coordination isn't something you develop during a crisis; it’s built through ongoing preparation and trust. Having instant satellite connectivity, ongoing real time situational awareness, along with real-time camera feeds streaming straight into the DEOC, allowed us to stay ahead, align resources with precision and keep our inter-agency partners completely synchronized with our field personnel." Zoraya Oliver-Griffin, Chief Resiliency and Emergency Officer
Understanding Our Water Grid: The Infrastructure Behind the Break
Events like the West Hollywood incident offer a rare window into the vital underground network that powers daily life across our service territory. The pipe rupture certainly piqued the interest of customers and the media asking about the frequency of pipe breaks and replacement plans.
LADWP’s water distribution system includes neighborhood mainlines that deliver water from larger trunk lines to homes and businesses. Managing historical infrastructure requires constant vigilance: over 30 percent of the City's pipes are past 80 years of age, with approximately six percent classified as high-priority based on leak history, soil conditions, and community impact.
The Department has long been committed to safeguarding our system’s reliability. Within the past five years alone, LADWP has invested $1.2 billion into pipeline replacement. Over the next five years, LADWP will invest approximately $3 billion into pipeline replacement as part of an $8 billion Water Infrastructure Plan. These proactive investments have yielded an annual system leak rate of 36% lower than the national average. Over the past two years, LADWP has nearly tripled its annual mainline replacement rate to 240,000 feet per year, alongside 5,200 feet of larger-diameter trunk lines each year, including installing modern earthquake-resilient pipe.
“Our pipe replacement program balances vital modernizations with affordable customer rates, while retaining a world class workforce and minimizing community disruptions. LADWP remains deeply proud of these industry-leading benchmark achievements and continues to build a modernized, highly resilient water grid designed to serve Angelenos for generations to come.” Anselmo Collins, Chief Operating Officer and Sr. Asst. General Manager, Water System
Water Quality Remains Paramount
Once the new segment of pipe was installed, a critical part of the restoration process was conducting thorough water quality testing. This required Water Quality staff to disinfect the pipe with chlorine and then test the water to ensure it met all regulatory requirements. Once testing was successfully complete, the water was then dechlorinated and safely released to the storm drain system. This detailed process highlights LADWP’s commitment to providing safe, reliable drinking water to customers, as outlined in the Department’s latest Drinking Water Quality Report.
Compounding Challenges: Secondary Breaks and the Rock Fire
Even as major repairs on the 36-inch trunk line neared completion, field operations faced secondary challenges. During the delicate re-pressurization phase, the system experienced several minor leaks, creating short operational setbacks that required deliberate adjustments to ensure line stability before restoring full service.
Simultaneously, unrelated 8-inch main breaks occurred in neighboring communities, including Venice, Hollywood, and Studio City. Rather than pulling resources from West Hollywood, Water System leadership deployed dedicated strike teams to contain secondary leaks concurrently without delaying the primary repair. Adding to the week’s intensity, Power System crews mobilized to support recovery efforts during the Rock Fire in Inyo County—requiring emergency management and communications teams to maintain a seamless dual-focus posture across northern and southern operations.
Stronger Through Partnership
From the initial 5:00 AM call to the final pavement restoration on day nine, the West Hollywood emergency response demonstrated what a fully integrated municipal utility can accomplish under pressure. Emergencies test more than physical infrastructure; they test cultural adaptiveness and interagency trust.
By working shoulder-to-shoulder with our City partners including the Mayor’s Office, Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Police Department, along with regional partners at Los Angeles County Fire Department and the City of West Hollywood, LADWP reaffirmed that unity and service remain the core of its mission. Grounded in frontline tradecraft, advanced technology, and behind-the-scenes coordination, the unwavering dedication of Department staff proved that LADWP stands ready to keep Los Angeles and its neighbors safe, informed, and resilient—no matter the challenge.
