Los Angeles International Airport is suffering from contaminated water problems in its international terminal. The terminal, which is undergoing renovations , has been plagued with brown water.
Planes trying to replenish their drinking supply have been unable to do so as the water coming out in that section of the airport is filled with bacteria, copper, brass, and rust from the building’s plumbing. However, the water inside the terminal is not affected, according to officials.
The Los Angeles Airport has been forced to use water bottles for traveling passengers and transport larger amounts in water tankers, but this can cause flight delays.
The renovations have a tab of $4 billion and started two weeks ago. Initially, all 13 gates were affected by the contaminated water. Now, the issues are limited to five of the international gates.
Nancy Castles, the spokesperson for Los Angeles airport says the water is safe to drink, even if it doesn’t look like it is:
“It is not unusual for plumbing in buildings to sometimes cause water to become discolored, resulting in conditions that reduce the amount of chlorine disinfectant present in the water.”
According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), who has been tasked with determining why the airport is experiencing water problems, there is no health risk for consumers.
“There is no water quality concern or problem with the water supply provided to the airport or residents of the surrounding area from LADWP.”
The emails uncovered by the Los Angeles Times reveal that officials at LAX were concerned they didn’t have enough tanks to provide the water needed for the awaiting international flights. In one instance, a Cathay Pacific flight was delayed 41 minutes while the ground crew loaded water onto the plane.
This is the second time the Los Angeles airport has been affected by water problems. In March, air conditioning water was mixed in with the drinking water in the building’s water supply unit in Terminal 6, and Los Angeles airport crews handed out bottled water to passengers.
