The Pacific Palisades' Santa Ynez Drinking Water Reservoir got a much-needed upgrade as local officials seek to increase potable water safety.
Work on the reservoir has cleared an important stage, as Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews finished installing a new liner and floating cover.
That completion moves the agency nearer to bringing one of the neighborhood's key water storage facilities back online after its planned overhaul.
Here's what to know
LADWP expects Santa Ynez to begin refilling and to return to full service by December 2026. That timeline follows the completion of the reservoir's new protective systems, part of a $14.3 million infrastructure overhaul.
Meeting federal Environmental Protection Agency requirements and protecting stored drinking water are among the goals of the project, which the Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved in January. The project also replaces aging infrastructure.
Local water service has continued without interruption while the reservoir has been temporarily out of service. LADWP said the area is still being supplied through the Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir and the Westgate Trunk Line.
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More background
Reservoirs such as Santa Ynez help stabilize water delivery, maintain system pressure, and store potable water for surrounding communities.
LADWP is also weighing longer-term options for the Santa Ynez site, including a permanent roof, on-site filtration facilities, and added storage capacity.
The utility has already proposed new storage tanks at the retired Pacific Palisades Reservoir site on Chautauqua Boulevard. The plan could add about 13 million gallons of high-elevation storage to help maintain water pressure in the area.
Separately, LADWP said its $78 million Pacific Palisades Water Main Improvement Project calls for 28 upgrades. That work includes replacing about 100,000 feet of older pipeline and fully replacing hydrants across the zone by 2031.
What's being done?
While Santa Ynez remains offline, LADWP said it has put a range of backup protections in place across the service area to limit risk. One of the biggest is a six-mile network of 10-inch flexible hose, paired with booster pumps, connecting the Corbin and Temescal tanks to reduce the risk of trunk line outages.
The utility said firefighting support is also a major priority. The added firefighting measures include a distribution-fed heli-hydrant at Santa Ynez, a firefighting cistern at the former Chautauqua reservoir site, six staged water tankers, and nearly 5 billion gallons of open-air water at the Encino and Stone Canyon reservoirs.
LADWP said municipal distribution networks are not built for direct wildfire suppression. The utility said coordination with the Los Angeles Fire Department is continuing through an integrated digital system used to track fire safety needs across the area.
Other efforts also include emergency generators at key pumping sites and ongoing brush clearance around utility facilities.
With the liner and cover now in place, the Santa Ynez project has moved a step closer to restoring a critical local water asset.
Where can I learn more?
Efforts to improve water storage and supply are not limited to the Santa Ynez project.
• In Southern California, Descanso Gardens is advancing a 250-acre rainwater storage project to bolster wildfire resilience.
• At Lake Mead, water levels avoided dead pool as California farmers conserved more supplies.
• In Pennsylvania, the York Water Company reported near-full reservoir recovery after a historic drought.
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