Since 1994, when DWP workers won kudos for their timely response to the Northridge earthquake, the DWP has reduced critical staff to the point where basic maintenance and updating of the system goes undone. Furthermore, the DWP has not updated its equipment, the average age of which is 60 years old, twice its expected lifespan. The DWP has also failed to take steps to deal with increased demands for both water and power because of the growth of population in the City of Los Angeles. The result is a system that is unable to deal with a prolonged heat wave, like that in the summer of 2006, let alone a terrorist attack, an earthquake, or other catastrophe.