Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials said today they expect to receive claims totaling “tens of millions” of dollars stemming from the water main break that flooded parts of the UCLA campus, but the agency’s insurance policy will cover the vast majority of the cost.
Thus far, however, the number of damage claims has been relatively small. DWP General Manager Marcie Edwards told the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee that only 16 or 17 claims had been filed.
“But that’s obviously going to grow over time,” she said.
Jim McDaniel, the DWP’s assistant general manager in charge of the water system, said that “down the road,” the damage claims would be in the “tens of millions of dollars.”
Deputy City Attorney Eskel Solomon told the committee, however, that the DWP carries a sizeable insurance policy to ensure it is covered for major emergencies like the July 29 water main break on Sunset Boulevard that sent 20 million gallons of water cascading downhill onto the UCLA campus.
He said the agency is covered for up to $100 million in damage claims, although the department has a $3 million deductible.
Edwards said the department has worked closely with UCLA officials since the break occurred, and she expected the claims process to go smoothly.
“I’ve spoken repeatedly with the chancellor at UCLA and I’ve told him to call me directly if there’s anything he needs or he feels we are not being responsive,” she told the committee.
The university sustained damage in multiple buildings, most notably in athletic facilities such as Pauley Pavilion, where the basketball court was covered with up to 10 inches of water and must be replaced.
Edwards also noted that the DWP will likely be dealing with claims from the owners of hundreds of vehicles that sustained flood damage while parked in structures that were inundated with water. Those vehicle owners, however, will likely go through their insurance companies, which will in turn file claims with the DWP.
Edwards said the DWP will likely seek a large boost in its budget for infrastructure repair, but noted that such an effort would likely have to be tied to an annual rate increase, with the money dedicated for the replacement of aging pipes.
Council members generally heaped praise on the DWP for its response to the water main break, and the speed with which the pipe was repaired and the street reopened.
Councilman Tom LaBonge, while hailing the department’s response to the emergency, criticized a “phony baloney” prankster who called ABC7 during the initial stages of the break, pretended to be a DWP spokesman and suggested the break was caused by a cherry bomb thrown in a toilet.
LaBonge suggested that the city draft a law to make such pranks illegal.
“I figure in these types of emergencies it should be a violation of law,” LaBonge said. “We will have an earthquake and there will be somebody who will try to (give) information that is incorrect.”
The committee members asked the DWP officials to return in 30 days with a report on long-term recommendations for improving the water-delivery system.