You have to feel bad for Steve Alford. Not only did the UCLA coach endure a blog hazing (blazing?) when he took the job; now historic Pauley Pavilion, after undergoing a wonderful renovation, has been completely flooded.
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As it turns out, L.A.'s water system was built during the Coolidge administration in 1924. It's a wonder it hasn't had more problems.
According to the L.A. Times, a 30 inch water main broke on Sunset Boulevard and set off a 30-foot geyser, spilling 8-10 million gallons - all during a historically bad drought.
That's all bad enough and well beyond our purview.
The photos in this article of the floor of Pauley flooded, of John Wooden's work space being destroyed, are heartbreaking. Pauley had eight inches of water on the floor at one point.
We have no idea of the state of the floor, but it's wood and it's under water. Presumably it'll at the very least have to be refinished. It's hard to imagine it won't have to be replaced.
And then there's the water damage to walls and so forth. If the building has concrete walls, it would be better; if it has sheetrock in places, the damage will be far worse.
The university is currently pumping the buildings and will see how things look when they dry out.
Incidentally, New York's system is older, or parts of it are anyway: the New Croton Aqueduct was finished in 1890 and the Catskill Aqueduct in 1914. Another major section is newer, having been completed in 1945.