A Los Angeles County representative admitted on Monday evening that the Department of Water and Power should have worked harder during past years to keep sediment levels in the Hahamongna Basin low. At a Pasadena City Council meeting the assistant deputy director of the LADWP Water Resources Division, Chris Stone, said: "We were a little bit negligent in maintaining our projects."
The City had invited Stone and the principal engineer for the Water Resources Division, Keith Lilley, to the meeting so that they could present their department's updated plan for removing sediment from the basin. It calls for hauling away 2.4 million cubic yards of dirt from the area behind the Devil's Gate Dam over the course of three to five years and would result in up to 400 truck trips a day, i.e. 50 trips per hour or almost one trip per minute.
Local residents and activists stood up on Monday evening to urge the City to intervene for a more sustainable solution. The main concerns include truck emissions, traffic congestion and dust as well as the destruction of wildlife habitat and the loss of recreational areas. Lilley's assurance that the traffic from trucks would not significantly impact the road intersections in the area elicited wide-eyed looks from many residents and an "Are you kidding me?" from Councilwoman Margaret McAustin.
The sediment level in the Hahamongna basin is currently high for two reasons: No dirt has been removed since 1994 (hence Stone's admission of negligence) and the Station Fire in 2009 resulted in a thick layer of additional mud and debris. The County, the City, local residents and environmental activists agree that the heavy build-up could cause flooding further downstream during a period of heavy rainfall. But while no one wants to see communities along the Arroyo in danger, opinions about what to do and how fast to do it differ.
Timothy Brick, the Managing Director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation, pointed out that the revised project plan would remove sediment down to a level not seen since 1935. He pleaded for the County to remove less dirt and to then maintain that level, and for the City to protect its citizens and natural resources. "This is not some waste area that we can destroy willy-nilly," he said.
The LA County Board of Supervisors will discuss the DWP's plan on November 12. If it is approved, sediment removal could begin in the spring of 2016. The County's original project would have removed 2.95 million cubic yards of dirt. A citizens working group convened by the City of Pasadena suggested that a total of 1.1 million cubic yards of sediment should be hauled away over the course of five years. The City adopted the working group's recommendations in May.
Showing posts with label Hahamongna Watershed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hahamongna Watershed. Show all posts
Pasadena weekend: October 31-November 2
Do something about climate change and learn about plans to alter the Hahamongna Watershed Park. Plus: a seed swap, a new watering schedule, this week's random read and more.
Hahamongna Watershed Park. The LA County Flood Control District recently released the final Environmental Impact Report for the Devil's Gate Sediment Management Program in Hahamongna Watershed Park. It will present the plan to the City of Pasadena at a council meeting on Monday. In addition, a series of three public meetings will allow the public to comment on the Flood Control District's plan before it goes to the County Board of Supervisors for their review and possible approval. The first meeting is on Saturday afternoon. Local sustainability groups including the Arroyo Seco Foundation strongly oppose the plan.
Climate change. Interested in climate change? The Citizen’s Climate Lobby will meet on Saturday morning.
Pasadena's watering schedule for the winter begins on Saturday. Going forth, Pasadena Water and Power customers may water on one day a week only. It must be a Tuesday, a Thursday or a Saturday.
The Free Food Garden at the Arroyo Food Co-op is hosting a seed swap on Saturday with a work party in the garden to precede it. The co-op is now open on Saturdays and Sundays for pick-ups and shopping. Orders placed online by Sunday midnight will be available for pick-up starting next Tuesday.
Gardening. Transition Pasadena's Throop Learning Garden meets on Sunday morning.
Petition, vulnerable road users. The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition has initiated a petition for the City to adopt an ordinance to protect vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders and persons with disabilities.
Survey. Pasadena Water and Power is conducting a survey on the city's energy future. To participate go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PWP_Energy_Future2014. (Note: PWP has not posted any information on when the survey period ends, but as of this printing the link was still up.)
Cycling. On Sunday morning Pasadena Cyclery will hold Gwen's Group Ride and the Sunday Morning Neighborhood Stroll. For details see the calendar page of Pasastainable, CA.
Random read. An environmental disaster story with a happy ending: In the November/December issue of Orion Magazine Rowan Jacobsen explores the history of Yuma, Arizona, a "kiln-dry city of ninety thousand people and 3 billion heads of lettuce." His narrative, Down by the River, shows how upstream damming of the Colorado which was once "an unruly god of creation and destruction" wreaked havoc on the environment and in the local communities; the river's wetlands turned to desert, and the native Quechan and the residents of Yuma fought "a cold war". The turnaround came with the new millennium. Thanks to the persistence and vision of a community developer and a landscape architect the wetlands and a sense of identity have been restored — with water that runs off from the lettuce fields.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)