The Long Beach Water Department has invested nearly $100 million since 1998 to upgrade the City’s older, less reliable cast-iron water infrastructure, which is more susceptible to frequent, costlier breaks.  The Water Department has replaced as much as 107,000 linear feet per year of the older cast iron pipeline, installing a newer, more reliable ductile iron pipe in its place.

Throughout the 1990s, it was common to have well over 100 main breaks occur each year in Long Beach.  The success of the main replacement program has caused these numbers to drop dramatically, including an all-time low of 26 main breaks in 2009.

Some relevant facts and figures:

• The average number of annual main breaks in Long Beach from 1991-2000: 133
• The average number of annual main breaks in Long Beach from 2008-2010:  30

Visit the links on the right to view the department’s press release and a news story by KTLA 5 on the City’s record-low number of main breaks in 2009: