Wilmington businesses deal with water-main flooding
A water-main break near 308 N. Avalon Blvd. flooded streets in the area of Avalon and East D Street in Wilmington Tuesday morning.
A 20-inch water main broke at the scene, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews were responding to the scene.
The break was reported at about 5:30 a.m. LADWP said it was a 110-year-old cast-iron pipe that burst this morning. A different section of the same pipe burst about a year ago. Forty-eight customers were temporarily without water Tuesday.
Water stretched for several blocks and flooded into at least 12 businesses.
Several inches of water flooded the basement of a Mexican restaurant on the street. Other businesses affected included a liquor store and a boat repair business.
Some of them said they were still trying to get reimbursed for repairs and cleanup from the previous water-main break about six months earlier.
Restaurant owners said having this occur on Valentine's Day is especially rough.
"It's a big day, we're going to make the heart-shaped pizzas today, you know?" said restaurant owner Alvaro Correa. "Couples coming in here for Valentine's dinner, I'm telling you, I had my day planned out."
"I'm losing money right now, because people want to stay away from this," said restaurant owner Ricardo Sanchez. "They don't want to come in and get mud all over their cars and everything, and this is going to be a two-day event."
Initially, repairs were expected to be completed by 4 p.m. Tuesday. However, on Tuesday afternoon, LADWP adjusted the estimated time of restoration to 9 p.m.
