The Los Angeles reservoir that was notoriously empty during the 2025 Palisades fire has been drained once again as crews replace its floating cover, to the dismay of area residents who worry that there won’t be water available to fight wildfires.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir stores drinking water for Pacific Palisades, and the $19.5-million project to replace its damaged cover is needed to ensure the water is safe to drink, according to the Department of Water and Power.
But with warm weather and wildfire season ahead, community leaders would prefer to see a full reservoir even if the water isn’t suitable for drinking.
“It’s a failure to recognize that there is value to this community to have the reservoir full,” said Maryam Zar, head of the Palisades Recovery Coalition. “It’s incredible to me that after the experience we went through [with the Palisades fire] there is still no recognition that this reservoir should be filled to the gills, whether or not it’s potable.”
The DWP announced the cover replacement project in January, saying the 15-year-old cover is damaged and needs to be replaced to comply with state and federal water quality regulations. The project is expected to be completed and the reservoir returned to service this fall.
DWP Chief Operating Officer Anselmo Collins said city officials would ensure aerial firefighting water sources remain available, including from the Encino and Stone Canyon open-air reservoirs.
Collins said the cover, which spans roughly 10 acres, is to ensure safe, reliable drinking water and to maintain the facility while the department considers long-term options to replace the floating cover method.
“We recognize the cover is not in the best shape possible,” he said, calling the replacement project a short to midterm fix.
In 2024, the reservoir was drained for repairs to the cover, but construction hadn’t started before the Palisades fire kicked off. After it was repaired in April 2025, remaining pinhole tears caused by embers from the fire meant the reservoir had to be drained again, Collins said.
He said that he understood the community’s concerns, but that the DWP is adding six miles of water piping from another facility as a backup measure to ensure there is enough water to serve the Palisades for both drinking water and emergencies.
Collins acknowledged that it was possible to fill the reservoir with nonpotable water, but it would only cause further delays. The cover must be built on top of the reservoir while it is empty.
The Palisades fire started Jan. 7, 2025, destroying nearly 7,000 structures and causing 12 fatalities. Firefighters lost water pressure from hydrants high in the hills, frustrating their efforts to combat the blaze.
The Santa Ynez Reservoir was empty at the time, closed for repairs to the cover, prompting criticism over the city’s management of its infrastructure. City Councilmember Traci Park, whose district includes Pacific Palisades, has said the reservoir was “empty on the one day it was needed most.”
A state report published late last year, however, concluded that even a full reservoir wouldn’t have ensured enough water to stave off disaster and that hydrants would have still lost pressure amid massive demands.
Zar took issue with those findings, saying access to water often made the difference for homes that were saved and those that were lost.
“Across the Palisades, people whose homes are standing will tell you that a little bit of water and a little bit of brush clearance did indeed make a difference,” she said.
Peter Friedman, a 75-year-old resident whose home was destroyed in the fire, said that he’s concerned about fire season starting without a large source of water nearby, and that the new cover will suffer from the same problems as the one being replaced.
“You know the old adage, ‘Putting good money after bad?’ That’s what’s happening here,” Friedman said.
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