A water main that burst early Wednesday morning in Hollywood flooded a residential street north of Franklin Avenue and partially submerged four vehicles in an underground parking lot.

Water from a broken main flooded a parking lot and damaged vehicles behind a residence on Dix Street. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) officials said an 18-inch cast iron water main broke at approximately 4:30 a.m. near the corner of Ivar Avenue and Dix Street, just east of Cahuenga Boulevard. More than 100,000 gallons of water flooded the street and collected in a parking lot behind a residence located approximately a half-block from the rupture in the 6400 block of Dix Street.

Crews worked to shut the water off on Wednesday morning and the repairs would likely take at least 15 hours, said Marty Adams, senior assistant general manager for the water system for DWP.

Brenda Boror, who lives in the residence where the parking lot was flooded, said the incident was frightening.

“We heard a noise and woke up and saw a lot of water outside. We didn’t think it would be that bad,” Boror said. “More water kept coming down the street, and now everything is flooded. My dad’s cars are out there. We just hope insurance covers it.”

Adams said the pipe that burst was installed in 1926, and had previously been given a grade of C in terms of its condition. No previous problems had occurred with the pipe in the last 10 years, he added.

“Nothing would have told us that this would have failed,” Adams said. “This pipe wasn’t in our system as one we would have put on our list for repairs. It’s unfortunate.”

Adams said DWP claims representatives were called to the scene to assist the residents whose property was damaged. He added that cold temperatures sometimes cause pipes to expand and contract, leading to breaks. Adams said the exact cause of the rupture is under investigation, and it is uncertain whether temperature was a factor.

“During the winter, you will have a spike in breaks,” Adams said. “We haven’t had it happen this year, and hopefully this isn’t a sign it’s going to happen.”

The sidewalk and street near the rupture cracked and buckled, which Adams said would add to the length of time for repairs. He said the underground pipes in the Hollywood area are some of the oldest in the city, dating to the 1930s and earlier. The DWP is in the process of developing a plan to address the situation.

“We are targeting the worst pipes, but we can’t get to every one before they break,” Adams added. “We are ramping up infrastructure replacement. We have a big job ahead of us.”