LOS ANGELES (June 26, 2025) — After months of extensive repairs to the floating cover, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) today announced that the Santa Ynez Reservoir has been returned to service after completing testing and final inspections of the reservoir.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir cover repair was a collaborative effort between LADWP crews, a cover repair contractor, and a crew of divers who were able to identify and repair pinhole sized leak points. Nearly 45 million gallons of water were refilled into the reservoir.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir has been offline since early 2024 due to a significant tear in its cover, which is an essential protective element required to comply with state drinking water regulations. The tear in the floating cover was initially discovered as part of LADWP’s routine monitoring process. Rainwater buildup expanded the tear to about 100 feet, which complicated the repair process since drainage needed to occur before work could commence.
“Repairs took longer than expected, as rainstorm damage, sun exposure and wildfire embers had further deteriorated the cover’s condition. It was a delicate balance between expediting repairs while ensuring there are no remaining issues with the cover when we put the reservoir back in service,” said Adam Perez, Interim Director, LADWP Water Operations. “I would like to thank our crew members and contractors for their hard work and dedication to restoring the reservoir to operation.”
The primary role of the Santa Ynez Reservoir is to provide supplementary supply during periods of peak customer water use. Additionally, it provides some redundancy if there are issues with the trunk line and/or regulating station serving the area. By design, this redundancy means that certain components will periodically be out of service for maintenance. Even when the reservoir is offline, the primary water supply for LADWP service areas has remained operational, meeting fire code requirements.
Covered reservoirs are required by the State of California to ensure that drinking water remains protected from environmental contamination. Unlike LADWP’s open-air reservoirs used for emergency firefighting and water storage, the Santa Ynez Reservoir is a critical part of the drinking water distribution system and remains covered for safety and cleanliness.
Now that repairs have been completed, LADWP engineers are working to identify solutions for the Santa Ynez Reservoir cover that will incorporate an enhanced design for greater durability and extended service life.
For more updates, please visit www.ladwpnews.com.
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