More than a week after a 36-inch water main ruptured, sending water cascading through West Hollywood and shutting down traffic on the Sunset Strip, crews were poised to reopen the busy thoroughfare Friday evening, even though repair work remains to be done.
“While the emergency road repairs will allow us to reopen the street when complete, the street paving is temporary, according to the LADWP, which advised that its crews will return in the coming weeks for permanent street repaving and repairs.
The department will coordinate with West Hollywood officials to inform the public in advance of that work, which will be scheduled “to reduce the impact of any lane closures required to complete the remaining work.”
A pinhole leak was repaired Thursday night, according to the LADWP, but another leak, in an existing portion of the pipe, appeared during follow-up testing.
“Crews immediately closed the valves and began draining this section of the pipe again,” according to the LADWP.
Because of the latest leak, “an alternate plan that will allow us to safely move forward with street restoration while maintaining reliable water service,” is being implemented, according to the department.
“Under the plan, we will isolate this section of the trunk line and temporarily reroute water through an existing 8-inch pipeline,” an agency update said. “This will necessitate the replacement of a 12-inch valve today. Approximately 25 LADWP water service connections may experience a loss of water service or low water pressure for 2-4 hours during the replacement work. We are making arrangements to provide water onsite to those affected customers.”
After making what the DWP called “steady progress” in repairing the ruptured 36-inch diameter pipeline, crews around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday observed water coming up from the area being backfilled and prepared for paving.
According to the utility, “LADWP crews continued repaving and striping of Sunset Boulevard early (Thursday) morning while working to repair a small pinhole-sized leak identified last night at the east end of the worksite. Overnight crews excavated an approximately 3×4 foot area to locate the affected area.”
The department said previously it planned to reopen the heavily traveled stretch of Sunset Boulevard Thursday night or Friday morning. It has been closed between Sherbourne Drive and San Vicente Boulevard since about 3 a.m. July 16 when the rupture occurred beneath Sunset at Holloway Drive.
Roughly 17 million gallons of water poured out of the pipe when it ruptured last week, and the water flowed down West Hollywood streets, pushing around cars and flooding garages while shifting massive chunks of asphalt and concrete slabs.
DWP officials said that since the main ruptured, repair crews “have performed complex work including pumping, repairing the 36-inch riveted steel pipe, welding the pipe, repressurizing and ensuring there are no leaks, flushing, disinfecting and water quality testing.”
Some businesses in the area remain closed, and many residents suffered property damage in the disaster.
Customers with questions regarding the pipe rupture may call 1-800-DIAL-DWP. Claims information is available at LADWP.com/Claims.
West Hollywood has launched a website with regularly updated information about the response and recovery effort. The site, weho.org/watermainbreak, includes repair updates, street closures, traffic information, Metro detours, parking enforcement changes, claims information, hotel discounts for affected residents and other resources.
Officials said the 10-mile Sunset Trunk Line that ruptured had already been designated for replacement. The department said design work is underway on a project to replace nearly 6.4 miles of large-diameter pipeline and 3.5 miles of distribution pipe, with construction expected to begin in 2031.
The utility said it replaced more than 246,000 feet of water pipeline during 2024 and 2025 and is on track to replace another 246,000 feet this year. The department also said its leak rate is 36% below the national average, averaging 16.1 leaks per 100 miles of pipe compared with 25 leaks per 100 miles nationwide.
The specific cause of the break was under investigation, but Anselmo Collins, the LADWP’s chief operating officer and senior assistant general manager of the water system, said pressure in water delivery lines is highest at night when demand drops.