Water infrastructureEarthquake-proofing L.A.’s water infrastructure

Since Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced his earthquake-safety proposal in December 2014, public attention has focused on requirements to retrofit old vulnerable buildings, but the plan also calls for fortifying the city’s vast network of water pipes and aqueducts. Water infrastructure is “the single biggest vulnerability we’re facing in Southern California,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, who helped develop Garcetti’s earthquake-safety plans.

Protecting water infrastructure is essential to keeping businesses in the city and residents from migrating to other cities or states, but the financial demands of fortifying Los Angeles’ water system — as much as $15 billion — will span multiple years or decades, according to the city’s Department of Water and Power (DWP). “I’m not going to just settle for a little part of this getting done,” Garcetti said during a presentation to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce last month.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Garcetti has already refused to increase water rates to fund basic repairs to hundreds of decaying water pipes, and for his earthquake-safety proposal, he has called for a statewide bond. City officials will propose the option to state legislators but progress will be slow.

“We haven’t discussed the idea of a bond at all,” said Councilman Mitchell Englander, who has traveled to Sacramento with other Los Angeles officials to promote the mayor’s plan. “It’s just a tougher nut to crack,” he said, noting that the city is already working with the state to craft tax incentives for property owners who retrofit their buildings to meet new standards.

Eileen Decker, deputy mayor for public safety, said DWP has been asked to devise less expensive plans to earthquake-proof only the most vulnerable parts of the city’s water system. DWP earthquake-engineering expert Craig Davis said a stripped-down plan involving “the minimum you would do” would cost roughly $4 billion. Davis noted that DWP- a self-funded agency unable to draw on city dollars- faces restrictions on how it can raise funds for earthquake improvements. Should DWP sell bonds, it would likely have to increase customers’ rates to repay investors. “We had a difficult time getting the mayor’s office to actually understand that at first, and they do now,” Davis said. “And that’s why they said they want to go for a state bond.”

Mark Ghilarducci, director of the state’s Office of Emergency Services, has praised Garcetti’s work on earthquake safety, but he wants Los Angeles officials to fund the water safety plan with city funds. “I’d never say that a (state) bond is out of the question,” Ghilarducci said. “But it really should not be the first place for a community to go.”

Without state funds to support Garcetti’s water improvements, Los Angeles residents and businesses could pay up to three times their current water rates. A $4.8 billion water infrastructure retrofitting effort in San Francisco is expected to do just that. In Los Angeles, “It wouldn’t fly,” said Jack Humphreville, who tracks DWP issues as a member of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council. “I think you’d have a riot.”