What a plumber in Pacific Palisades, CA sees after the fire
The Palisades Fire started on January 7, 2025. CAL FIRE lists 6,845 buildings destroyed and 975 damaged. When a house burns and the water pressure drops, plastic pipes can melt and pull bad chemicals into the lines.
That's why LADWP's advisory on customer plumbing says that if your home was damaged 50% or more, you're strongly encouraged to replace all the pipe on your side of the water meter before you hook back up. On a rebuild we can run that new pipe for you, from the meter to every fixture. See our repiping page for how that goes.
LADWP water and LADBS permits
Pacific Palisades is part of the City of Los Angeles, not its own city (more on that here). So your water comes from LADWP, and plumbing permits go through LADBS. Not LA County, and not Malibu.
After the fire, LADWP put a Do Not Drink notice on parts of the Palisades on January 10, 2025. On March 7 it said the tap water was safe again and asked people to flush their plumbing before use (LADWP update). If you have rebuild questions, the city runs a support center at 16925 Marquez Avenue where LADBS and LADWP staff work side by side (hours and details).
Old neighborhood, old pipes
The Palisades was founded in 1921. By 1925 it had about 100 homes, and by 1929 about 365 (source). A lot of the houses that are still standing went up long before plastic pipe. On older homes like these we often find galvanized steel water lines, which rust from the inside, and cast iron drains that crack over time. Thats usually why you get weak pressure, brown water first thing in the morning, or a drain that backs up every few months.
Not every lot is on the sewer
Most people think the whole Palisades is on city sewer. But LADBS has a bulletin just for reusing existing septic systems on wildfire rebuild projects (see the LADBS rebuild page). So some lots here run on a septic tank. Before we touch the drains on a rebuild, we find out where your waste actually goes. Happens more than you'd think.
