Posts tagged Ballona Creek

Celebrating the Ballona Creek Watershed
Dec 27th
If you have lived in the Los Angeles area for any amount of time, or are just a fan of ecological gems in the area, than you have likely heard of Ballona Creek and its important watershed that surrounds it. The creek may not have the same reputation as the LA River, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a crucial part of our local environment.
So why is this particular watershed so vital? For one, it feeds the Ballona Wetlands, which spans 600 acres and is a stopover for migratory birds as well as rare native plants like the yellow pincushion (chaenactis glabriuscula).
Ballona Creek itself runs almost 9 miles in length and the watershed totals 130 square miles. Friends of Ballona Wetlands and others have been working hard to protect this vital section of biological diversity in our city. Some great Clean Water folks living in the watershed are celebrating water by collecting it and putting it to reuse. To check out some cool rain gardens in the Ballona Creek Watershed, take a look at these.
Do you happen to live near the Ballona Creek Watershed? If you reside near downtown or west to the Pacific Ocean, you’re likely to be right in More >

Clean Water Begins with You
Jan 27th
When it rains it pours. At least that was the case for part of December here in Southern California, with more rainfall likely in the near future. As we’ve noted before, rains can wash unwanted trash through our storm drain system where it ends up polluting our watershed and ocean beaches.
Friends of Ballona Wetlands Executive Director Lisa Fimiani recently wrote about what she witnessed as water carried debris and litter through the Ballona Creek Watershed. While frustrated by what she saw, she has some great insights into how we can work together to reduce stormwater pollution.
“Those of us who live in the Ballona Creek Watershed are used to seeing plastic bags and bottles and styrofoam containers in Ballona Creek – especially after a storm event. Well, we’ve had quite a few lately with more to come,” writes Lisa Fimiani. “This is a mindset – everyone in our watershed has to consider this a priority and take responsibility of what they see – we all need to have a sense of ownership of our watershed!”
Lisa Fimiani wants action; not only on the part of the City, but also of citizens to act when they see potential stormwater dangers in their neighborhoods. We can all do More >

Third Ballona Creek Watershed Meeting Scheduled for Tuesday, September 21st
Sep 14th
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 More >
Public Weighs In on Heavy Metals and Bacteria Pollution
Apr 30th
On March 3, 2009 the City of Los Angeles Stormwater Program held the second of three stakeholder workshops to discuss the Ballona Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Implementation Plans or—in laymen’s terms—plans that will identify stormwater projects for improving the water quality of Ballona Creek and the Estuary. The City of Los Angeles Watershed Protection Division (WPD) has embraced a multi-benefit approach for managing urban runoff, with a strong focus on using natural solutions and developing a green infrastructure.
The TMDL Implementation Plans will address pollutants such as bacteria, metals, toxic pollutants and other water quality impairments. Meeting these requirements will greatly reduce water pollution in the area, making it cleaner and more hospitable to acquatic life and local residents. Cleaning up the Ballona Creek watershed will also help with improving water quality at our beaches.“The beach at Playa del Rey near Ballona Creek is often very polluted, even during dry weather,” says Mark Gold, Executive Director of Heal the Bay.“The Ballona Creek fecal bacteria TMDL is critical to ensure that a day at the beach won’t make you sick.” More than 70 stakeholders from environmental organizations, community groups and local neighborhoods attended the second workshop. City staff, consultants More >