The Los Angeles Times found in a report that local officials had listed several projects relating to water supply upgrades and improvements as “highest priority,” but many were not completed and are now under scrutiny due to the fires. These are some of the proposals that have been slow to pan out to secure the water supply for some Los Angeles neighborhoods and surrounding areas.

Las Virgenes Municipal Water District connection

A connection to be used in the event of an emergency to Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu from the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has been listed as a priority by Los Angeles County, going back to 2019 at an estimated cost of $4.1 million.

The 2019 document claimed the connection would “provide a water source for the region in case of emergencies,” and be completed by September 2022. The project stalled and was given approval by the city of Malibu late last year — before the current string of fires began.

The “7,172 foot long, 12-inch diameter, watermain” is now planned to begin construction in 2026, with the Los Angeles Times report suggesting the slower timeline on the critical project may be due to resident pushback on water rate increases and environmental regulations.

Coastline Drive fire flow enhancement

Another project that appeared in the 2019 priority project list and has yet to begin construction was an improvement to the waterlines on Coastline Drive. The 2019 listing had the project at a cost of $2.8 million and was expected to be completed by December 2022.

As of an October 2024 presentation from the Los Angeles County Public Works, the project was scheduled to begin February 2025 at a cost of $3.14 million. The report from the county claimed that there had been six leaks over a 10-year period, and that the project needed to “replace the aging and deteriorated water main to provide a more reliable water system.”

The presentation claimed that the project would replace 2,000 feet of 12-inch waterline with a new steel waterline of the same diameter, while also replacing “fire hydrants and service laterals along the
waterline.”

Lower Busch Tank replacement

Another long-discussed improvement was the replacement of the “severely deteriorated 300,000 gallon concrete” Lower Busch Tank with a new steel tank, as outlined in various documents, including the 2019 list of priority improvements.

The 2019 document outlined the replacement as a $4 million project to be completed by October 2021, but the project has yet to break ground, with one webpage from the county showing a proposed start of construction for summer 2026.

Other projects in the area that have stalled, according to the Los Angeles Times report, include a project to replace a water tank in Malibu, a mile west of the Palisades fire, which is said to be a $13 million project to build a 1,1 million gallon tank to begin construction in 2027.