Archive for November, 2010
LID Ordinance at Energy & Environment Council Committee on December 7th
Nov 24th
Dear Clean Water Supporter,
The proposed Los Angeles Low Impact Development (LID) Ordinance* will be scheduled to be heard at the December 7, 2010 meeting of the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee.
We will provide details regarding the time and location of the meeting once the agenda has been finalized.
This is an important step in the adoption of the LID Ordinance. We hope you’re able to attend this hearing. For ongoing updates regarding the proposed LID Ordinance, please visit the LA Team Effort Blog.
Sincerely,
Shahram Kharaghani
L.A. Stormwater Program Manager
Share Your LA River Stories
Nov 24th
When I was student at Monterey Highlands Elementary School, my 5th grade class took a field trip to the Los Angeles Zoo. The experience I remember most about the day was driving up the Golden State Freeway on a slow-moving, yellow dinosaur-sized school bus and seeing, for the first time, all the painted cat faces peering out at me from the river’s storm drain outlets. As a budding animal lover, I remember excitedly recounting the portraits to my parents. At the time, I knew nothing about the Los Angeles River, but those larger-than-life paintings of cat faces sure made an impression on me! Little did I know that 30 years later, I would be working with the City of Los Angeles on programs that would help with the renaissance of the Los Angeles River, one of LA’s most iconic natural resources.
The Departures LA River StoryShare Initiative is looking for stories just like mine. Led by Los Angeles Councilmember Ed Reyes and KCET, this project “will be a series of community recording events leveraged with other community activities aimed at capturing the stories of individuals who have strong personal memories and history with the Los Angeles River, creating a More >
Going Green with Parkways!
Nov 18th
L.A.’s Board of Public Works recently made it a bit easier to go green! That’s right, last month the Board voted on new rules that will allow homeowners in the city to plant drought tolerant turf and ground cover without having to obtain a permit.
This means less water use, which means not only water savings but less runoff that will make its way into out storm drain system!
To learn more about the City’s Residential Parkway Landscape Guidelines please check out this PDF (http://bss.lacity.org/Engineering_Division/Residential_Parkway_Landscaping_Guidelines_halflayout.pdf). Also, read the Los Angeles Times post on the Board’s vote. (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/urban_planning/)
November Stormwater Events: A Bountiful Month of Environmental Fun
Nov 8th
Fall is in full swing and there is no better time to lend a few hours to better our environment! There are a lot of great opportunities this month to lend a few hours and also some great events you won’t want to miss. Volunteering is like Thanksgiving every day! So come on out!
>Have some electronic waste you want to dispose of properly? Planet Green is holding an e-waste pickup in Chatsworth on November 12th and 13th. You’ll feel good that 100% of the proceeds of the event will go to Superior Street School.
>TreePeople will also be in South LA taking care of some fruit trees on November 13th. So drop off that e-waste and trim a tree! Sounds like a bountiful Saturday to us!
>Want to learn more about what’s going to happen to Echo Park Lake’s stormwater improvements? If so, come out on Saturday, November 13th where the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works will be hosting a workshop on the forthcoming rehabilitation.
>Not free to volunteer during the weekend? Not a problem. On Thursdays this month TreePeople will be hosting tree planting outings in Coldwater Canyon Park and they can always use a few extra set of hands!
>On More >
LA Stormwater Projects Map
Nov 4th
Seeing is believing. So take a virtual tour of the LA Stormwater Program’s major past, present and future water improvement projects around the LA River watershed. There is sure to be at least one near you if you live in the area, so click on the map and explore these cool projects. To learn more about each project, be sure to visit the links provided.
LA River Improvement ProjectsThese are the LA Stormwater projects occurring in the LA River Watershed. LA Stormwater Projects
These are the general LA Stormwater projects.
View City of Los Angeles Projects in a larger map.
The Los Angeles River: An Original Hollywood Star
Nov 4th
Tarzan paddled along its willowed banks in movies of the 1930s. The Moderne arches of its 6th Street bridge provided a gritty backdrop for the race scene in Grease. Terminators raced through its concreted channels in Terminator 2. Ever since Hollywood found its home here in Los Angeles back at the turn of the 20th century, the Los Angeles River has played a supporting role in movies, commercials and music videos. Unfortunately, over the last century, its original starring role as a life-giving natural resource has been almost forgotten.
Named Neustra Señora de los Angeles de la Porciúncula in 1769 by Father Juan Crespi of the Spanish Portola expedition, the river certainly had an original name befitting a Hollywood star. Father Crespi was the first to write about the Los Angeles River and its surrounding valley, describing it as a “beautiful wide river” running through a “very lush green valley.” As the expedition explored the area, they would have walked along fertile riverbanks where California Lilacs, Arrow Willows and California Sycamore trees flourished, egrets, mule deer, and raccoons roamed and steelhead trout swam through clear water.
This picturesque image of the 51-mile long Los Angeles River is vastly different than the reality More >
Name that Animal and Score – Some Original LA River Artwork!
Nov 3rd
The Prize: Win a beautiful, framed LA River poster signed by the artist – LA Stormwater’s very own graphics director, Oscar Amaro.
The Contest: Try to name as many of the animals in the LA River poster as you can (hint: there are five total). Write your answers in the comments section below.
Deadline: We will select the best answer 2 weeks from now, on November 17, 2010.
Plus, everyone who gives it a try will receive a free poster, so you have nothing to lose!
“Going Green” with Gravity
Nov 2nd
Here in the City of Los Angeles’ Stormwater Program, we talk a lot about clean water being a team effort. From city-sponsored projects to local residents and businesses, we stress the importance of everyone pitching in to attain the goal of clean water in our local rivers, creeks, lakes and beaches. So, you can imagine our delight when Mother Nature did her part to assist with the City’s low flow diversion program.
The City has experienced a lot of success with its low flow diversion program, which began in the late 1990s. Today 23 underground low flow diversion projects dot the Santa Monica Bay coast, quietly diverting hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted urban runoff to the sanitary sewer system during the dry summer months. In fact these low flow diversions have been so instrumental in improving water quality that Heal the Bay noted in their 2007 Beach Report that low flow diversion projects resulted in long stretches of beaches in the Southland receiving consistently good grades. This recognition was a first in Heal the Bay’s history.
Now, with the Downtown Los Angeles Low Flow Diversion Project, the low flow diversion program is moving inland to the Los Angeles River, with More >
