As of approximately 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, residents and businesses in Manhattan Beach were being advised by city staff to run their tap water until it is "clean" and free of any cloudiness.
City Manager Dave Carmany issued a press release containing the advice after a fire hydrant was knocked off on the corner of Highland Avenue and 45th Street around 6 a.m. Wednesday.
City fire staff, responding to the incident, experience difficulty accessing the shut-off valve and water ran from the area for nearly one hour, said Carmany, causing "significant erosion to the beach and berm" at the bottom of 45th Street.
The water that cascaded down 45th Street did not damage any homes downstream, he said, however, a house on the corner of 45th and Highland "was impacted but no one was home." Carmany said in the release, "It appears no damage to that home."
City Water Department crews were on scene as of the time of Carmany's press release and Los Angels County Lifeguards had been notified of the incident.
http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/index.aspx?page=358&subscriberguid=993f0e11-86ea-4f87-8fd9-bf0b5a9e19a2
Diane and "Travel," thanks for mentioning the city's email list. I'll sing up for that. I still think reverse 911 would be appropriated for notifying us about contaminated water.
All the City notice stated was "City residents may be seeing what appears to be cloudy water coming out of their taps for a short period of time. Residents are advised to let their water run until it appears clear." That statement certainly seems short of addressing any readers logical concerns. On the other hand, Liz used "clean" in quotes, which I don't even see in the press release, and might connote to some a greater concern on drinkability and health impacts than "clear." Also curious that Liz said the release was sent out at 7:30, the release itself was labeled "8:30," and the release hit my e-mail box at 9:00.