WATER HAZARD; OLD ENCINO PIPE RUPTURES; FEARS BECOME REALITY.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy and Theresa Moreau Daily News Staff Writers

City engineers knew a major water main in Encino could break at any moment, possibly causing injury but certainly flooding back yards and streets for blocks around.

They were right.

On Thursday, the 76-year-old steel pipe burst open with a roar and sent more than 1.5 million gallons of water cascading down Louise Avenue in bumper-high waves.

Only two homes were damaged and no injuries were reported, but engineers said the rupture proves a longstanding fear: The city's rotting network of ancient water pipes must be replaced more quickly.

``This is a wake-up call,'' said David Freeman, general manager of the city Department of Public Works. ``We're cognizant now that there is a greater danger of a break than we were cognizant of before.''

Less than a mile of that pipe has been replaced since the repair program began last year, officials said.

Freeman said he ordered engineers to find a way to accelerate the replacement of 67 miles of riveted-steel water pipes laid before the 1940s, including 44 miles in the San Fernando Valley. The Valley pipes are buried in what engineers say is especially corrosive soil - increasing the risk that they could break without warning.

The cost of replacing the Valley mains alone was estimated at $250 million in 1993.

``All these things end up being about money,'' Freeman said. ``We don't have $250 million lying around.''

So the DWP created a 10-year replacement and repair plan, financed with $1 million last year, $4 million this year and $14 million next year.

Too little money

The water main in the 4600 block of Encino Avenue was on a 1993 list of pipes that need replacement.

``Frankly we didn't get it done before the break,'' Freeman said. ``We're very sorry about it. What we are doing as a result of the break is re-evaluating the pace of the program to see if we can find money to increase the pace.''

For Charles and Jean Warner, such promises come too late. They and their neighbors awoke about 1:30 a.m. to the thundering sound of a 30-inch pipe ripping open under immense pressure.

An estimated 13,000 gallons of water a minute rocketed from the pipe for the next two hours, creating a 50-foot geyser, toppling trees, breaking lights and creating a veritable typhoon in back yards.

The water crested at bumper level and moved down Louise Avenue, carrying with it clots of trash cans and debris.

Officials said only two homes sustained water damage by the pipe breakage, and no injuries were reported. But residents including Jean Warner were shaken by the watery experience and left with a muddy mess.

Water seeped into her backyard sheds and under the main house. Surveying the damage to her garden, tennis court and pool, Warner said she hoped the DWP fixed the broken pipe permanently.

``I hope they're not thinking of Band-Aiding it,'' she said. ``If anyone had been there when it exploded, they'd be dead.''

External corrosion is being blamed for the rupture.

``The pipe's 76 years old. Being that old, there's been some wear and tear in that section above ground, and that resulted in the pipe failure,'' said Ed Freudenburg, spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

By 4:30 a.m., DWP workers had shut off 80 percent of the water flow. By 9 a.m., after employees had shut and opened a series of 11 water gates in a 1-mile radius, the flow was shut off 100 percent, authorities said.

The broken section was expected to be replaced by the end of Thursday, with water running through the pipe again by today.

No cost estimate was available for the repair.

An old problem

The DWP launched its pipe replacement program after old water mains ruptured in 1991 at Kester Avenue and Ventura Boulevard and in 1993 in Studio City. One rupture flooded part of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and forced the evacuation of 75 people.

With a new focus on old pipes, city engineers identified 67 miles of large riveted steel water mains that range in age from 69 to 91 years old, including 44 miles in the Valley.

Public works officials said they couldn't replace the entire network of bad pipes at once because it would cost too much.

``We tried to pace it over 10 years so we don't have to raise water rates,'' said Freeman, who took over the agency earlier this year.

The pipe that burst Thursday would have been replaced eventually under the program, but so far the program has replaced less than a mile of pipe, between Ventura Boulevard and the Encino Reservoir, he said.

Freeman said it was not clear whether the pipe that burst was affected by corrosive soil. He said the break occurred on a piece of pipe that was above ground.

Still, he said there is a risk of breakage for any pipe that was installed in 1921. And there is a lot more pipe like it throughout the city.

``There's a bunch of pre-1940 pipe that needs to be replaced,'' Freeman said. ``We'll accelerate it if we can.''

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Todd Moulton of Encino wades in his yard to check up on his personal watercraft after Thursday's water main break.

(2 -- color) Water from the main gushes through an Encino resident's wall. Two homes were damaged but there were no injuries reported.

(3) Jean Warner moves sandbags to release water from her tennis court.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News