Crews were expected to work through the night to repair a massive water main break that sent up to 10 million gallons of water gushing over nearly four hours onto Sunset Boulevard and the University of California, Los Angeles, campus Tuesday afternoon.
A 93-year-old, 30-inch diameter water main ruptured and blew open a 15-foot sinkhole about 3:30 p.m. in the 10600 block of West Sunset Boulevard, officials said. The cause of the break was being investigated.
The gusher stranded cars, a bus and drivers in several feet of swiftly rising water and mud. While there were no injuries, a Los Angeles Fire Department swift-water team rescued five people who were stranded in the flooding.
"Unfortunately, UCLA was the sink for this water source," said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block.
Officials expected to keep Sunset Boulevard near the campus closed through much of the day Wednesday.
"There's almost no chance that any portion of Sunset Boulevard around UCLA will be open," said Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz, during an evening news conference Tuesday. "Do what you can to avoid it. Find some other route."
Officials said 10 million gallons of water was lost in the gusher, equivalent to about 200,000 baths, according to the US Geological Survey. The utility serves more than 500 million gallons a day to its customers throughout LA.
Water flow through the pipe when it was in proper working order was about 75,000 gallons per minute, LADWP officials said.
The riveted-steel water main carries water to the area from the Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir.
Most of the damages Tuesday occurred at UCLA.
Two parking structures and two buildings were damaged, including UCLA's recently renovated Pauley Pavilion, the site for UCLA men's and women's basketball, volleyball and women's gymnastics. Water covered the basketball court. The John Wooden recreation center was also damaged.
Mud and water also covered the university's Drake Stadium -- a track-and-field facility -- along with the nearby intramural athletic field.
UCLA officials were expected to assess the total damages after they finish pumping water out of the buildings, Block said.
Even as firefighters urged people to stay away from the area on Tuesday, the spectacle drew students, attending fall orientation, to the water. Some skimboarded and swam in it. Two students sat in water up to their chests on a stairwell as if it was a hot tub.
Water cascaded down steps into an underground parking structure and pooled as high as five feet.
Students trudged through knee-deep water as they walked across campus.
Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is out of state on vacation, said he was "closely monitoring the situation" and in contact with DWP, police and fire officials, along with UCLA, "to make sure we are leading a closely coordinated response."
Water service was briefly interupted for some residents near the break, but it was restored quickly, DWP officials said.
The flood comes in the wake of a statewide ban on public water waste as California officials approved fines of up to $500 a day for violators earlier this month.
"Unfortunately we lost a lot of water, around 35,000 gallons a minute, which is not ideal in the worst drought in the city's history," Koretz said.
Photo Credit: Gadi Schwartz