Our Fave 5 Facts about the LA River

We all know what it is, where it is and most of us even know what it does. It’s in the background of our city, but in many ways it’s the heart of LA. It flows through our communities and to the ocean we all enjoy and love. It’s none other than the Los Angeles River.

So what do we really know about the river aside from it being a concrete channel leading runoff to the ocean? Below is a handful of fun and interesting tidbits we thought you’d enjoy.

1. The Gabrielino Indians first inhabited the area near the river. They did so for hundreds of years prior to the arrival of the Spanish. Gabrielino villages numbered over 45 and were located near the Los Angeles River, mostly in the San Fernando Valley.(1)

2. The LA River was at one time our city’s sole water supply.(2)

3. The LA River is the longest paved waterway in the world, running 51 miles out of the San Gabriel Mountains, through municipal jurisdictions (which includes 16 cities), and then flows into Long Beach Harbor. Click here to read about why impermeable surfaces are bad news for water quality.(3)

4. There are more than 120 crossings along the LA River’s entire reach.(4)

5. In 2008, the Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) documented eight types of fish living within the river: largemouth bass, green sunfish, tilapia, black bullhead, Amazon sailfish catfish, carp, fathead minnow and mosquitofish. Read our interview with FOLAR’s President, Shelly Backlar.(5)

What has been your experience with the LA River? Non-existent? Fond? Mixed? Let us know by scribbling your thoughts below and sharing your pics on our Facebook page.


(1) McCawley, William. 1996. The First Angelinos: The Gabrielino Indians of Los Angeles. Malki Museum Press, Banning, California. ISBN 0-9651016-1-4
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_River
(3) “Long Beach Shore: The LA River’s Dumping Ground”, Keith Higginbotham, Long Beach Post, May, 27, 2010
(4) Federal Highway Administration 2009 National Bridge Inventory (NBI)
(5) "2008 Los Angeles River Fish Study". Friends of the Los Angeles River. www.folar.org.

*Photo courtesy of Sunset.com

QuikScience Challenge 2011!

The USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and Quiksilver, Inc have teamed up for a new science education program that is sure to make a splash!

It is the QuikScience Challenge 2011 and is described as a multi-faceted competition for student teams to spark their interest in science and the ocean. The Challenge will also foster leadership, environmental awareness and stewardship. There are two Challenges, one for middle school teams as well as one for high school teams.

QuikScience Challenge projects will include an ocean science lesson, a community service project, a solution to an environmental problem, a portfolio and a creative presentation of the team’s work.

If you live in California or Hawaii you are eligible to enter the Challenge. First place winners will travel to USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island for an entire week for education and fun! Second place teams will receive a 4 day trip to the same location.

But every team is a winner with many prizes and drawings for all. Who knew science education could be so much fun?

Registration ends October 29, 2010. For more information, please visit the QuckScience Challenge site.

*Photo courtesy of EarthZine.org

Three Rainwater Harvesting Workshops in Santa Monica

Are you thinking about installing rain barrels around your house? Or do you just want to learn more about rainwater harvesting, like how to reuse the water or a few safety tips? Well, the City of Los Angeles, along with the Cities of Pasadena and Santa Monica are having a few events that are right for you!

To be presented at the Santa Monica Rainwater Fair on Sunday, October 17, the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) will be hosting a one-day course on general rainwater harvesting. The session will provide an overview of rainwater harvesting history, methods of applications, including concepts and techniques for uses such as landscape irrigation and wildlife management. This event will be free of charge.

If you are busy on Sunday, there are also two advanced rainwater harvesting events (at a cost of $295 per workshop) to be held on October 18 & 19 by ARCSA at the Santa Monica Library. These courses will provide more in depth harvesting design and installation tips, out-door and in-home rainwater use ideas, as well as rules, regulations and much more!

To register for any of the aforementioned events, please visit: www.arcsa.org

*Photo courtesy of EcologicalGardens.com

Monthly Events: Be an Eco-Champion this October!

The heat wave is behind us. That means one less excuse for not getting out into the sunshine for a day of eco volunteering. Below are a few great opportunities to build community and help make our city a bit more green.

>On Thursday, October 7th, come out to Park Work Day in Beverly Hills where Tree People and volunteers will be getting rid of unwanted, invasive plants as well as working to reduce slopes from erosion at an area park.

>Saturday, October 9th will also prove to be a great day for volunteering. There are a number of community cleanups and restoration events taking place around the area, from Santa Monica Bay Keeper, Friends of Ballona Wetlands, City of Los Angeles, to name just three.

>CicLAvia will be going strong on Sunday, October 10th. Haven't heard of CicLAvia? Well, come out on Sunday to find out! (Hint: Streets are opened all, and so are our public spaces from Boyle Heights to Downtown, MacArthur Park to East Hollywood!)

>On Wednesday, October 13th the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council's will be hosting a Wildland Weed Strategic Approaches Field Course, where you will get the skinny on all the good ways to get rid of bad weeds.

>Have plans for Saturday, October 16th? Well now you do! Heal the Bay will be in Venice ensuring that the beach is known for its great sand and not trash. Come out to pitch a hand.

>On Sunday, October 17th, the American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association will be in Santa Monica holding a seminar on all things rainwater.

>Tree People will be at it again on Sunday, October 23rd in West LA for a little planting. Volunteers needed, the more the merrier (and the more trees that will be put into the ground).

>The last 3 days of October will prove to be awesome with the Eco Maya Festival where ecological education, culture and health will be the focus. The event will take place at Los Angeles City College.

Do you plan on attending any of the upcoming cleanups or events? Which cleanups or events will you be checking out this month? Also, be sure to check out a complete list of October’s upcoming events.

*Photo courtesy of the California Coastal Commission

The Riverdale Green Street Project: Ribbon Cutting & Neighborhood Celebration on 9/29

Who among us hasn’t experienced the joy of planting a seed, nurturing the seedling and proudly watching it blossom into a young tree or flowering shrub. And so it goes with ideas. An idea is planted, nurtured and supported, and in time, that idea grows into a movement that positively changes lives and neighborhoods.

The City’s Stormwater Program is undergoing a similar transformation with new ideas for how to responsibly manage rain flows at the neighborhood level. So come join us as we unveil one of these projects that embody this new vision and approach.

The Elysian Valley’s Riverdale Green Street Project will celebrate its recent completion on Wednesday, September 29 with a ribbon cutting, and you are invited!

For more information on the time and location of the event, click here for a downloadable flyer.

For decades, runoff from storms was viewed as a liability; a community danger that needed to be diverted to storm drains as quickly as possible to avoid flooding and damage. Sadly, the runoff was often times contaminated with a wide array of pollutants ranging from pet waste to trash to used motor oil, and this runoff flowed untreated through our creeks and rivers, sending a toxic stew to area beaches.

Now, in this era of mandatory water conservation and economic challenges, the idea of rethinking the management of rainwater and using that water for irrigation purposes or infiltrating it back into diminishing ground water supplies is taking root. And with that new way of thinking, came the Riverdale Avenue Green Street Project.

Following in the footsteps of Oros Green Street and Elmer Avenue Green Street, this pilot project seeks to plant the seeds for a greener LA by creating a new green street standard here in the southland.

The Riverdale Green Street Project, initiated by the City of Los Angeles and whose major funding source is the California Coastal Conservancy, utilizes stormwater parkway planters to treat and infiltrate polluted urban runoff.

Completed in early August 2010, the primary goal of this project is to create a model for a new standard of residential street design. The project retrofited the existing parkways on both sides of Riverdale Avenue, between Crystal Street and its terminus at the west side of the Los Angeles River, with infiltration units that will capture and treat stormwater runoff from 14 acres of residential land. Parkway landscaping featuring drought-tolerant natives will be planted above these buried devices.

This new way of constructing city streets and parkways will serve the dual purpose of treating contaminated urban runoff while simultaneously irrigating the parkway vegetation. Lauded by the environmental community and residents alike, this project will provide improved water quality in the Los Angeles River and, ultimately, San Pedro Bay. The City plans to monitor the quality of water flowing into the LA River from this project with the hope that it will provide a very real model in developing sustainable standards for future street design.

So join us on celebrating the Riverdale Green Street’s completion. It’s literally a road to a green future.

*Photo courtesy of LA Creek Freak

The Tale of Two Green Streets

All across America, the idea of “going green” has taken off. Everywhere people are beginning to understand that our day-to-day actions have had a cumulative impact on Earth. And, with that understanding comes the desire to reduce that effect with a greener lifestyle. “Green” has become the new gold standard for how we live our lives to ensure the future health and sustainability of our world.

It won’t be too long before the term “green streets” will join the ranks of household ideas promoting environmental consciousness. When we speak of “green streets,” some may think that we’re talking about ripping up streets and reverting back to the days of dusty country roads. Here in LA, the second largest city in the US, we’ll never be able to go back to those days of yesteryear. Instead, the term “green streets” refers to a new way of thinking, a new and sustainable way of constructing streets to promote the management of polluted stormwater runoff.

Two streets in the Elysian Valley community are paving the way towards creating a new green streets standard here in LA. Three years ago, the City of Los Angeles and community group North East Trees partnered together to build the Oros Green Street Project with funding from the California Water Quality Control Board and Proposition O, LA’s Clean Water Bond. Using cutting edge technology, this model project constructed five stormwater gardens in Oros Street’s parkway to capture and infiltrate storm water runoff. Today, this project continues to demonstrate that green streets will help Los Angeles reach its goal of reducing pollutants in our local rivers, creeks, lakes and beaches.

The Oros Green Street Project proved that stormwater management within our city streets was possible. The next project – the Riverdale Avenue Green Street Project – works towards establishing the City standard.
The Riverdale Avenue Green Street pilot project, initiated by the City of Los Angeles and whose major funding source is the California Coastal Conservancy, utilizes stormwater parkway planters to treat and infiltrate polluted urban runoff. Completed in early August 2010, the primary goal of this project is to create a model for a new standard of residential street design. The project retrofits the existing parkways on both sides of Riverdale Avenue, between Crystal Street and its terminus at the south side of the Los Angeles River, with infiltration units that will capture and treat stormwater runoff from 14 acres of residential land. Parkway landscaping featuring drought-tolerant natives will be planted above these buried devices.

This new way of constructing city streets and parkways will serve the dual purpose of treating contaminated urban runoff and simultaneously irrigate the parkway vegetation. Lauded by the environmental community and residents alike, this project will provide improved water quality in the Los Angeles River and, ultimately, San Pedro Bay. The City plans to monitor the quality of water flowing into the LA River from this project with the hope that this demonstration project will provide a very real model in developing sustainable standards for future street design.

Since the beginning of time, roads have provided humanity with a means to get to a new destination. It’s appropriate then that green streets are providing Angelenos with cleaner communities and water ways – paving the way towards a more sustainable future for all of Los Angeles.

*Riverdale Ave. photo courtesy of LA Creek Freak

Countdown to California Coastal Cleanup Day!

On Saturday September 25, 2010 the 26th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day will be held across California. Last year’s turn out for the largest marine environment event in the country was enormous here in the Golden State. Over 80,600 great volunteers collected over 1.3 million pounds of trash and recyclables.

This year promises to be just as successful!

California Coastal Cleanup Day is made possible by the California Coastal Commission's Adopt-A-Beach program. From 9 a.m. to Noon this coming Saturday, volunteers will be congregating at over 50 locations in LA County alone. And it’s not too late to join in the cause to pick up unwanted litter before it makes its way into our waterways!

Heal the Bay along with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors are the LA County coordinators for the cleanup events. Check out Heal the Bay’s webpage to find a location near you and help make 2010 as successful as 2009.

The ocean will thank you!

Stormwater Partner Earns Pioneer Woman of the Year!

The City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program would not be successful if it weren’t for our gracious, committed partners. Our work’s outcome is enhanced due to the amount of talent and knowledge we are privileged to work with every single day.

That’s why we are pleased to announce that Sherri Akers, a community environmental advocate and supporter of the Stormwater Program who lives in Mar Vista, was recently awarded the 2010 Pioneer Woman of the Year in Council District 11 by Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl.

“I am truly honored to accept this award as it recognizes that each of us can make a difference. I feel very lucky to be part of a community that is dedicated to public service and shares my passion for conservation and environmental change,” said Akers after she received the award. “We have the perfect ingredients n strong civic support from Councilman Rosendahl, the Mar Vista Community Council and an engaged community with an environmental focus. It’s exciting to see our efforts seeding action in other communities.”

To read more about Sherri’s great work and the award she worked so hard to earn, please check out this great piece in The Argonaut.

The Stormwater Program congratulates you Sherri Akers!

Third Ballona Creek Watershed Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, September 21st

The City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program, on behalf of the Ballona Creek watershed, invites you to participate in the third workshop for the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Implementation Plans for the Ballona Creek watershed on Tuesday, September 21st.

The two previous workshops discussed the identification and prioritization of pollutant hotspots and opportunities for water quality improvement projects in the Ballona Creek watershed. With your great input, this resulted in two Implementation Plans for the Ballona Creek Bacteria and Metals TMDLs. The third workshop will be dedicated to the development of the third Implementation Plan for the Ballona Estuary Toxics TMDL.

The workshop topics will include:

•Multi-pollutant and sustainable, green approach to water quality improvement and TMDL compliance

• Proposed distributed and regional projects for implementation in the Ballona Creek watershed

• Results of Toxicity Identification Evaluation special study

• Proposed strategy to address the specific requirements of the Ballona Estuary Toxics TMDL

In addition, Stormwater Program staff will present preliminary concepts of several stormwater projects identified in the Implementation Plans.

We look forward to meeting with you at this workshop!

When: September 21, 2010 from 10:00am to 11:30 am

Where: Hyperion Treatment Plant, Conference Room 116
12000 Vista Del Mar, Playa Del Rey, CA, 90293

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Ida Meisami at Ida.Meisami.Fard@lacity.org or (213) 485-3999 with your name and the names of any additional guests.

*Photo courtesy of Ballona News

Sun Valley Stormwater Tour Wants You!

Want to check out some of the area’s most advanced stormwater projects?

This month you are invited to come out to Sun Valley where the City of LA Department of Public Works and the Prop O Citizens Advisory Committee will take you on a tour of three fantastic sites (Strathern Wetlands Park, the Sun Valley Multi-Use Facility and Elmer Avenue Green Street).

Please RSVP by September 10th. For more information, please email BPW.PAO@lacity.org, or call (213) 978-0333.

When: Sept. 15, Wednesday, 10 a.m.

Where: Sun Valley Recreation Center, 8133 Vineland Ave., Sun Valley

Monthly Events: Kick-start Fall with a Little Community Building!

What better way to welcome the change in seasons than with a volunteer or community event this month? If you didn’t have a chance to lend a hand for the environment this past summer, it’s not too late to jump right in to help green L.A. this fall. And if you did volunteer, we’re sure you are all rested up and ready to go again! Here’s a taste of what’s in store for September!

>On Saturday, September 4th, come on out to Santa Monica where Surfrider will be hosting a beach clean up. Some fun in the sun is always great, just be sure to bring that sunscreen!

>Saturday, September 11th is packed full of green goodness. Two tree care projects spearheaded by TreePeople will be taking place in Altadena and El Monte. There will also be a fabulously fun Environmentalist rendezvous including a picnic and film in Pasadena.

>It’s not exactly a volunteer event, but that’s okay, it’s still great for the community. On Sunday, September 12th LA Streets Blog will be closing down streets in L.A. for a cool street fair. Bring bikes, skateboards or just your walking shoes. No cars allowed!

>Do you like the famous Santa Monica Pier? How about pets? Well, there will be a great pet festival hosted by Best Friends on Sunday, September 19th, at the Santa Monica Pier. The event is being held to help raise awareness for homeless pets in our area.

>On September 19th, there will also be a cool street tree care event in Mid City organized by TreePeople, that is sure to be a hit! You won't want to miss it.

>On Tuesday, September 21 the cities that make up the Ballona Creek watershed are holding a workshop with the City of L.A. at Hyperion Water Treatment to educate the public about cool stuff like water pollution and sustainable, green approaches to water quality improvements. You should come on out!

>Saturday, September 25 will be a fun one. It is Coastal Clean Up Day! Do you know what that means? Well, we’ll tell you. Heal the Bay will be coordinating over 50 cleanup locations throughout L.A. County! Yep, that’s a lot and there is sure to be one near you.

>Check out all of September’s events that aid stormwater by visiting our calendar at http://www.calendarwiz.com/calendars/calendar.php.

And if you have any upcoming events, please send them on over to us and we will be happy to include them in our community calendar.

*Photo courtesy of Heal the Bay

Echo Park Lake Clean Up Hits the Airwaves

The City’s effort to clean up Echo Park Lake was covered by a local National Public Radio affiliate earlier this month. The City of Los Angeles is in the planning stages of rehabilitating the lake to address the trash and pollutants that have impaired this
water body. The lake, well-loved by the community, was last drained
and cleaned shortly before the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Currently stormwater drains directly into the lake, which eventually leads to the Los Angeles River. So a cleaner lake means a cleaner river, and ultimately a cleaner ocean. Public comments on how the City should best utilize Prop O funds to remediate the lake is fast approaching, so check out how you can chime in.

To listen to the segment online, please visit Southern California Public Radio’s home on the web. Also check out the great video clip below that depicts the historic Echo Park Lake throughout the years.



*Photo courtesy of LapPhoto1

State & County Move to Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags

Plastic bags do not biodegrade. That means if they are littered they can wash into the storm drain system and end up being dumped into our ocean waters.

There, plastic bags can become a problem for aquatic life for decades on end. Turtles and other creatures often mistake plastic bags for food, and birds and fish can get wrapped up in the bags causing death and severe injury.

In order to address the problem, Santa Monica State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley has proposed a bill (AB 1998) that would ban single-use bags at check-out stands at most stores in the state, including grocery, drug and other types of convenience stores.

On June 28, 2010 the California State Senate Environment Committee supported Sen. Brownley’s legislation, which makes the bill one step closer to becoming law, which Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he supports.

“I commend the Assembly for passing AB 1998, which would make California the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This bill will be a great victory for our environment and I applaud Assemblywoman Brownley for working on this effort.”

More recently, in late July, Los Angeles County Supervisors also put forth their own proposal to ban single use plastic bags in LA County.

As such, plastic bags in our region may soon be checking-out for good.

How do you feel about banning single use plastic bags?

UPCOMING: This Sunday, August 22nd head on out to “Bag It! A Film Festival” at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater. Screenings will begin at 4pm and run until 7pm. You can RSVP by clicking here. And if you go, be sure to let us know what you thought of the film festival.

UPDATE: The Plastic Bag Ban bill (AB 1998) failed passage on August 31, 2010, stalling in the California State Senate with a 14-21 vote.

*Photo courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Los Angeles Stormwater E-Media Program Garners NACWA Award

The City of Los Angeles’ Stormwater Program is proud to be the recipient of a National Environmental Achievement Agency (NEAA) Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), for outstanding achievement in the Stormwater E-Media Program. The prestigious NEAA Award recognizes Los Angeles’ E-Media Program for its innovation in educating and engaging residents and stakeholders through a multi-pronged approach that includes web sites, a Facebook page, an e-newsletter and blog.

Los Angeles’ Bureau of Sanitation’s Assistant Director Adel Hagekhalil was present at the July 20, 2010 evening award ceremony held in San Francisco, CA to receive the award. Recently, LA Stormwater sat down with Adel to ask him a few questions about the award, its significance to the City and future plans.

LA Stormwater: What do you see as the significance of LA Stormwater receiving this award?

Adel: NACWA’s Public Information & Education Awards honor agencies for inventive efforts to inform and involve their communities. Receiving this prestigious national award confirms that we at the Bureau of Sanitation are national leaders in our environmental programs providing first class service deserved by a first class city. We share this national award with our many clean water partners across the Country.

Since stormwater pollution is mainly incidental to poor human behavior, public outreach and education continue to be important tools in mitigating stormwater pollution. The NACWA award signifies and recognizes the City's effort on this matter, and the leadership role that the City is playing in this worthwhile endeavor.

LA Stormwater: Do you have experience with social media? How do you see it helping the City's efforts?

Yes, I use Facebook, Twitter, e-groups, etc. as part of my personal life and at work. Social media is today's way of communicating with a vast majority of the City population. Consequently, we at the Bureau are taking advantage of this communication tool to reach our targeted audiences. We believe that more City residents are relying on the internet to get their information. Most of our audiences are members of the younger generation who rely on social media and electronic communication tools. Furthermore, it is a very cost effective method in today's world where so much emphasis is placed on cost-conscious policies.

LA Stormwater: What other award winning projects caught your eye at the NACWA ceremony?

Adel: All of the awards were very innovative and creative, but two of the projects that caught my eye were:

- The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's Greenseams Video that uses real-life examples of green infrastructure to educate the public on cost-effective ways in which the utility is addressing the complex issues of water pollution, stormwater run-off, and flooding. This compelling educational tool uses vibrant photography and easy to understand storytelling to illustrate the natural, environmentally beneficial solutions that the Greenseams Program offers.

- The Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County's creative campaign entitled Wrongville/Rightville. This informative community outreach program utilized newspaper advertisements and posters to educate school children and the general public about the watersheds of Los Angeles County, and what they can do to keep them clean.

LA Stormwater: What does the future hold for the Los Angeles Stormwater's E-Media Program?

Adel: We are planning a complete redesign of our http://www.lastormwater.org/ web site in 2011. This web site was on the cutting edge of e-media when it was first developed 12 years ago in 1998. We are excited to utilize new technology to freshen up the site and create a resource that will continue to educate and inform the three million people that visit the site annually.

Monthly Events: End Summer in Style by Volunteering for Cleaner Water

Summer is coming to an end. Well almost, and if you haven’t had a chance to volunteer to improve our water quality by planting a tree or picking up trash, you still have plenty of time! This month is chock full of fun events and opportunities, so here’s a peek!

>On Tuesday, August 2nd head on over to Echo Park Library for a presentation on the lake’s rehab, hosted by the City of LA.

>If Tuesday is too busy, but Echo Park is a place you want to venture, check out an event hosted by the Echo Park Trash Abatement Project on Saturday, August 7th to pick up trash before it enters the storm drain.

>TreePeople is holding an event on August 11th and 12th at Pasadena’s Eaton Canyon Nature Center for a two-day environmental service learning workshop.

>The City of LA is having a volunteer event out in Wilmington on August 21st, which will be a morning full of satisfying work. On that same Saturday Heal the Bay will be hitting the sands of Pacific Palisades for a sure-to-be-fun beach clean-up.

>Your last chance to volunteer this month comes on August 28th as Friends of Ballona Creek will be in Playa del Rey for a wetlands restoration day. Volunteers are always welcome, so mark your calendars and make a commitment to do your part to better our environment.

>Check out all of August’s events that aid cleaner water by visiting our calendar at http://www.calendarwiz.com/lateameffort

And if you have any upcoming events, please send them on over to us, and we will be happy to include them in our community calendar.