Months prior to the devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles water officials were developing a strategy to reactivate an old reservoir to temporarily increase the area’s limited water storage capacity.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power considered this option because the primary water source for the neighborhood, the Santa Ynez Reservoir, had been taken offline due to a torn cover. Repairs on the reservoir, initiated early in 2024, were still underway when the fire ignited in January, leaving firefighters with insufficient water supplies to combat the blaze effectively.
Documents obtained through public records reveal that the city actively sought solutions to address the prolonged water shortage. Despite extensive discussions and initial preparations, these efforts did not resolve the issue before the emergency.
In June 2024, crews dedicated several days to cleaning the Pacific Palisades Reservoir, located roughly three miles from the larger Santa Ynez site and decommissioned in 2013. This cleanup was intended as a preliminary step toward temporarily bringing the reservoir back into operation during the Santa Ynez outage.
Following the cleaning, additional work was planned, including disinfecting the reservoir and installing new piping to restore functionality.
However, the plan to reactivate the older reservoir was ultimately abandoned. A spokesperson for the water department stated that the city concluded the project posed safety risks to workers and nearby residents due to structural and other concerns.
