Bad Day For LA: Roads, Water Quality Among Worst In Nation

Two unsettling reports about LA's aging, crumbling infrastructure today. According to a report released by transportation research group TRIP, LA's roads rank among the worst in the nation. According to the study:

Roads, bridges and transit systems that are deficient, congested or lack desirable safety features cost the average Los Angeles motorist a total of $2,462 each year, a total of $40 billion statewide, due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays...
The TRIP report, "Future Mobility in California: The Condition, Use and Funding of California's Roads, Bridges and Transit System," finds that Los Angeles roads are the roughest in the nation, with 92 percent of major roads in the metro area in poor or mediocre condition. Among the most deteriorated roads in the Los Angeles area are Highland Avenue from Santa Monica Boulevard to Franklin Avenue in Los Angeles, and Route 5 from Beach Boulevard to the Los Angeles County Line in Buena Park.

LA's water quality also ranks among the worst in the nation, with the DWP ranked 83rd out of the nation's largest water agencies. ABC 7 reports that Janice Hahn "has requested an immediate report back from the DWP on the level of contaminants in the city's drinking water." In a feature on the outdated Safe Drinking Water Act, the NY Times writes of LA:

The water in some city reservoirs has contained contaminants that become likely cancer-causing compounds when exposed to sunlight.

To stop the carcinogens from forming, the city covered the surface of reservoirs, including one in the upscale neighborhood of Silver Lake, with a blanket of black plastic balls that blocked the sun.

On the brighter side, Christmas is next week and it's 75 degrees. You give and you take.