Water main break cuts service on Michigan Avenue; crews working to restore flow

Update repairs were completed at 6:30 pm PST

SANTA MONICA - A water main break on Michigan Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 30, left adjoining households without service, according to local accounts of the outage. City crews said they were working to isolate the break and restore water as soon as possible.

Residents along the street reported taps running dry after the line failed. Santa Monica Public Works crews were on scene and said the priority was shutting off the damaged section, completing repairs, and returning pressurized service after flushing and testing.

The incident fits a broader pattern across Los Angeles County this year. Utilities have responded to a string of breaks as pipes installed a century ago continue to fail. In July, a 1916 LADWP trunk line ruptured under Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, sending millions of gallons into streets and garages and closing the road for more than a week. A second leak followed days later on Santa Monica Boulevard. Santa Monica itself dealt with a separate leaking line at the Pier earlier in August after construction work.

A water main break on Michigan Avenue in Santa Monica, August 30, 2026

City documents show Santa Monica maintains an annual water-main replacement program and has completed larger water-system projects in recent years. The same capital budgets also fund paving, sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and street-safety projects, including road-diet and Vision Zero work that reallocates roadway space.

Some residents argue the visible results have been bike lanes and narrowed travel lanes rather than faster replacement of aging mains and repair of potholes. City plans list both underground utilities and surface mobility projects as priorities. Officials have not issued a public statement Sunday evening specifically addressing the Michigan Avenue break.

Affected households were advised to watch for city updates on restoration and any boil-water notice if pressure dropped long enough to risk contamination. Residents without water can report outages through Santa Monica's service request system or Public Works.