LADWP chief describes infrastructure troubles

Two water main breaks in the San Fernando Valley have emergency crews scrambling. A 95-year-old cast-iron pipe ruptured in Studio City during the weekend, and early Tuesday morning a 40-year-old water main broke in Valley Village.

That created a sinkhole that swallowed the front end of a Los Angeles fire engine. David Nahai, chief of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power, said he’s aware that many of the city’s aging underground pipes need repair.

David Nahai: “We’ve got in the city of L.A. something like 7,200 miles of pipe, that’s enough pipe to go all the way to New York and all the way back. So there’s a lot here to monitor and to deal with.”

Nahai spoke with KPCC’s Patt Morrison from the scene of the Valley Village sinkhole.