Water cascades down a stairway to a parking structure adjacent to Pauley Pavlion home of UCLA basketball after a 30 inch water main burst on nearby Sunset Boulevard onJuly 29 in Los Angeles.(Photo Paul Phootrakul AP)
LOS ANGELES Authorities were assessing the damage Wednesday after a 93 year old water main broke near the campus of the University of California Los Angeles sending a torrent raging through parking structures and athletic facilities.
The 30 inch pipe's rupture spewed water 30 feet into the air Tuesday afternoon sending an estimated 8 million of gallons roaring onto roads and campus in the midst of a historic drought.
No injuries were reported from the flooding at UCLA and many students used the occasion to wade down steps that became waterfalls. Some broke out floats and were pulled through the accumulated water.
Patrick Huggins and Mattahew Bamberger 18 year old residents of nearby Westwood shot video of themselves splashing in water up to their thighs on the school's practice putting green.
I thought this is a good day for a little dip Huggins said.
Some of the water poured onto the basketball court and flooded the locker rooms at Pauley Pavilion UCLA's iconic athletic facility that recently underwent a $132 million renovation.
The Wooden Center which has training facilities for students and the J.D. Morgan Center which houses the school's sports trophies Hall of Fame and athletics offices also were damaged.
It's painful. It's painful UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said of the damage to Pauley. It's a beautiful structure. It's of course a symbolic structure for this entire campus.
But many of the campus' other most famous buildings such as Royce Hall and Powell Library are perched well above the flooding.
FOR THE WIN
See the flooding threatening UCLA's Pauley Pavilion
Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jamie Moore told NBC4 TV that crews tried to divert up to 2 feet of water that raced into parking structures into storm drains. Swift water rescue teams were dispatched but no rescues were reported.
The break occurred about 3 30 p.m. just at the start of rush hour. Sunset Boulevard is a key artery on the city's tony west side.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted that the broken line dated to 1921.
Jim McDaniel with the Department of Water and Power said there was no magic technology to determine when a new line is needed and the city is on a replacement cycle of over 300 years for main lines.
Contributing Associated Press
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