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La Verne utility workers demonstrate service-line repairs, valve upkeep and sewer cleaning
Summary
La Verne City water and sewer staff demonstrated how crews exercise valves, replace plastic service lines with copper, respond to leaks within about 30 minutes and use high‑pressure jetting and CCTV to prevent sewer backups. Workers urged businesses not to pour grease and warned against flushing wipes.
Christopher Quadras, a water utility maintenance worker I for La Verne City, demonstrated how crews maintain valves and replace leaking household water services during a city water-and-sewer demonstration video. "We have 5,500 valves in our water distribution system," Quadras said, adding that about 1,500 serve fire hydrants and roughly 4,000 are distribution valves.
Quadras walked through valve-exercising procedures, saying crews typically operate 25 to 30 valves per day to verify they function in an emergency. He described how crews respond to leaks around the clock on a standby rotation and said response time "could look up to at the most 30 minutes" to reach a reported leak. Before any excavation he said crews call 811 to request an Underground Service Alert so locators mark utility lines (he cited orange for telecom, red for electric and yellow for gas).
The demonstration showed two common leak responses. For a mainline leak crews dig to expose the main and apply a repair clamp; for a service-line leak the crew may replace the entire service. Quadras described replacing plastic 1‑inch services with copper for greater longevity and resiliency, explaining the replacement steps: disconnecting the meter, cutting the old plastic line, feeding a steel cable and pulling in a new copper line secured with a Chinese-finger-trap attachment. After making the connection crews charge the line to flush debris and install a goose‑neck bend in the copper so an earthquake is less likely to pull the service from the main.
Eugene Perez, who runs sewer operations for the city, described sewer maintenance: crews use a jetter at about 1,200 to 2,000 PSI and typically clean between 6,000 and 8,000 feet of pipe depending on conditions, then run CCTV inspections to check for obstructions or damage. Perez described backup procedures in which crews isolate the affected area with sandbags, use a vacuum truck to remove waste and sift found items. "Even though it may say that they're flushable wipes, yes, you are able to flush them, but it doesn't mean that they're going to dissipate in your line," Perez said, adding that wipes, grease and roots are common causes of backups.
Perez said the city performs targeted "hotspot" cleaning quarterly to semiannually in business districts such as downtown and the Foothill area and asked local businesses to minimize grease discharges and to use degreasers when cleaning floors to reduce clogging. The video concluded with Perez thanking viewers and encouraging the public to follow guidance to prevent leaks and backups.
The presentation focused on routine operations and emergency response protocols; it did not announce any new ordinances or funding decisions and contained no formal votes or motions.
