Why is water running down Ivanhoe Avenue in La Jolla? San Diego will investigate

The city of San Diego has launched an investigation into a mysterious accumulation of water that has run down Ivanhoe Avenue in La Jolla’s Village for months.

The city’s stormwater code compliance team will visit the site in coming weeks and determine the source and cause, city spokesman Ramon Galindo said.

The water, which former La Jolla resident Tom Keener said he first observed months ago, can be seen on the east side of Ivanhoe between Prospect Street and approximately Silverado Street.

Pools of water on Ivanhoe Avenue have been accumulating for months, a former resident says.

(Ashley Mackin-Solomon)

Looking to find the cause, he traced the water to Park Row, near Ivanhoe and Silverado, earlier this month, he said.

“There is a hole that comes out of the curb and water was pouring out of it,” Keener said. He theorized that the water was leaking from a pipe in the city’s drainage system.

A few days later, he saw the water again. “It was coming out of that hole and even higher up on Park Row,” he said.

Keener said he’s concerned both by the waste of water and the possibility that the source is a damaged pipe.

“We don’t have enough water to let it all go to waste,” he said. “Who knows where the problem could originate? If it is a pipe, it could be a valve or a spigot or anything.”

Keener, who now lives in Clairemont, said he grew up as a Boy Scout in La Jolla “and learned about ecology and doing the right thing,” he said.

“Southern California had this water problem for ages and over the last few years, we were really scared about how much water we were getting. I had to ration water use in my home a few years ago, and this [water on Ivanhoe] is a heck of a lot more than what I was using.”

Pools of water also present a problem with mosquitoes. The San Diego County Vector Control Program advises people to avoid having standing water on their property to prevent mosquito breeding.

Mosquitoes are active year-round in San Diego, but especially in warmer weather. San Diego County has 27 different species of mosquitoes, at least nine of which are known to carry diseases that can be passed to humans, according to the county.

All mosquitoes lay their eggs in or near standing water. Removing or treating standing water is the best way to control them, the county says. ◆