LADWP Crews Test For Water Contamination In South LA

WATTS (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power crews Wednesday tested for water contamination within neighborhoods and schools in South Los Angeles.

According to the Los Angeles Unified School District, the cloudy water recently appeared at Flournoy Elementary, Compton Avenue Elementary, 96th Street Elementary, Grape Street Elementary and Florence Griffith-Joyner Elementary.

Students at Grape Elementary School were subsequently told to stay away from water fountains. They were instead given bottles of water to drink from.

No other school is using bottled water and water service to the schools has not been disrupted.

"The safety of our students is always the district's top priority," OEHS Director Robert Laughton said in a written statement. "We will continue to monitor this situation to ensure the highest quality of water is supplied to our schools."

LADWP crews tested the drinking water on Friday and found that it was safe to drink even though it looked unappetizing.

In fact, crews report that pipes in the South Los Angeles area are much newer than those in other parts of town.

It is possible, however, that the murky water appeared because of sediment shifting in the pipes.

LADWP has agreed to replace all water bottles being used in response to the incident.

On Jan. 15, a chlorine pump at the 99th Street Wells Water Treatment Facility malfunctioned. For six hours, residents living in the neighborhoods of Green Meadows and Watts were exposed to water that was not fully disinfected.

LADWP crews insist the recent cases of cloudy water is unrelated to the water treatment failure.

Pipe-flushing tests will continue throughout the month.

The Los Angeles City Council has scheduled a hearing for late June to receive more answers.