2009 Stormwater Mitigation Handbook for LA Builders and Developers

The City of Los Angeles recently produced a new Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan (SUSMP) handbook entitled How to Build Protection for Mother Nature Into Your Project for local designers and developers. To view or download the handbook, click here.

Depending on the type of project, either a Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan (SUSMP) or a Site Specific Mitigation Plan is required to reduce the quantity and improve the quality of rainfall runoff that leaves the site. Developers are encouraged to coordinate with the City’s SUSMP Public Counter staff during the design phase of their projects to ensure compliance with these regulations. The handbook also provides information on stormwater mitigation features such as vegetated filter strips, porous pavement, flow-through planters, parking lot tree wells, infiltration swales, and rooftop water capture systems.

SUSMP or Site-Specific Mitigation Plans are required as part of a project plan submittal package. Project applicants should contact the City of Los Angeles’ SUSMP Public Counter before submitting a building permit application to the City’s Department of Building and Safety. The City’s SUSMP Public Counter is located at 201 North Figueroa Street, 3rd Floor, Station 18, Los Angeles. CA. SUSMP staff can be reached by calling (213) 482-7066.

Additional information about the City’s Stormwater Program can be found at http://www.lastormwater.org/.

Two Important Stormwater Update Meetings Next Week

1) PROPOSITION “O” GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS CITIZENS OVERSIGHT ADVISORYCOMMITTEE (COAC)
SPECIAL MEETING
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
1 p.m.
ECHO PARK RECREATION CENTER
1632 Bellevue Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90026
Contact: Mark Tullai - (213) 473-7567

http://ens.lacity.org/cao/propocitizencom/caopropocitizencom235662658_092=20

2) TEMESCAL CANYON STORMWATER PROJECT UPDATE

Thursday, October 1, 2009

6 p.m. - 8p.m.

PALISADE BRANCH LIBRARY

861 Alma Real

Los Angeles, CA 90272

Contact: Maria Martin -(213) 485-5753

http://ens.lacity.org/techdocs/emg/Environmental_Review_Documents.htm

Coastal Cleanup Day This Saturday at Locations Throughout LA County

Be a part of the largest volunteer day on the planet on Coastal Cleanup Day!

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2009
Time: 9 am - 12 noon
Who: You + 12,000 other volunteers!
Where: Over 60 locations in L.A. County
Supplies: All cleanup supplies are provided – bags, gloves, data card, pencil, etc.
How to volunteer: Just show up! Learn more

*For other California locations, please visit the California Coastal Commission website at http://www.coastal.ca.gov/

Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) began in 1985 and has grown into a huge annual event. Every state with a coastline participates, including the Great Lakes states, and even some inland states clean river and lake shores. The one-day cleanup is international—at last count, over 60 nations participated—and may be the largest volunteer day on the planet. Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors are the Los Angeles County coordinators for the state of California's Coastal Cleanup Day. We bring out over 10,000 volunteers to cleanup sites each year in L.A. County to over 60 sites along Santa Monica Bay and along inland creeks and waterways.

Coastal Cleanup Day involves individuals, schools, community and company volunteer groups. Volunteers in Los Angeles County typically collect tens of thousands of pounds of trash and recyclables during a three-hour period. By filling out the trash "data cards" during the cleanup, volunteers are helping to identify and stop polluters in the future. Most people clean at the beach and on foot, but there are also special cleanups for inland creeks, boaters, kayakers, and divers. By far the most common item picked up are cigarette butts. Some of the more unusual items found in recent years were a chandelier, a briefcase full of graham crackers, and a bridal gown.

For all other information, visit www.healthebay.org/ccd

Low Flow Diversion Projects Throughout LA Get Upgrades and Good Grades

Starting in October, five low-flow diversion (LFD) structures located along Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades will be simultaneously upgraded. Approximately $30 million from Prop O funds will be spent for the upgrades, which will allow the structures to operate year-round during dry weather, as well as for the installment of a new sewer line.



The five LFDs include:

Santa Monica Canyon

Palisades Park at Potrero Canyon

Temescal Canyon

Bay Club Drive

Marquez Avenue


During the dry season (April to October), water run-off funnels into these structures before traveling to the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant near El Segundo, where it is cleaned and released into the ocean.



To date, the five LFDs have been successful in helping three Will Rogers beaches earn high marks from Heal the Bay during the dry season this past year.


For more information on Low Flow Diversion and what the City is doing, click here.

September 17th: Scoping Meeting for Machado Lake

The Machado Lake Ecosystem Rehabilitation project needs the support of the community to meet the goals of clean water, wildlife improvements, and healthy parks for Los Angeles.

Please come join us and participate in a scoping meeting:

Thursday, September 17
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Kaiser Permanente Hospital Conference Room and Education Center
Located on Normandie Avenue between PCH and Permanente Way
Conference Rooms A1 and A2
Harbor City, CA 90710

The Machado Lake ecosystem, which includes Wilmington Drain, has been negatively impacted by trash, proliferation of invasive plant species, eutrophication, and sediment and nutrient accumulation, which has resulted in degraded water quality, fish and wildlife habitat, and hydraulic capacity.

To address these problems, the City is proposing to implement a variety of measures designed to improve water quality; help meet adopted and future Total Maximum Daily Loads criteria; enhance riparian, wetland, and upland habitats; improve hydrologic and hydraulic conditions; and restore existing recreational amenities as well as develop new ones.

Click here to read more information on the Environment Impact Report and for further details of the scoping meeting.