News of the Arroyo
Title: | Pasadena seeks to revive Arroyo Seco |
Subtitle: | Restoration's roar |
Date: | 2008-01-17 |
Summary: | January 17, 2008 - The Central Arroyo Stream Restoration Program got off to a grand start yesterday beneath the Colorado Street Bridge. Make sure to check out the Photo Gallery provided by the Star-News. |
Author: | Molly R. Okeon, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | ![](\"https://www.arroyoseco.org/images/20080117_120211_C_SX17-ARROYO2_Disp_200.jpg\") NATURAL BEAUTY: Russell and Alda Longs of Alhambra visit the Arroyo Seco on Wednesday, something they have done for more than 30 years. The Central Arroyo is earmarked to receive $2.5 million for improvements. The Restoration program will provide trail improvements, upland restoration, parking lot improvements and enhancement of aquatic habitat. (Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer)• Photo Gallery: Central Arroyo Restoration ProgramPASADENA - With the roar of 100 cubic feet of water per second flowing below their feet, about 75 Pasadena officials and residents stood under the Colorado Street Bridge on Wednesday to kick off the $2.5 million Central Arroyo Stream Restoration Program. A joint venture between the Arroyo Seco Foundation and the city of Pasadena, the project aims to improve the Arroyo Seco stream\'s habitat and water quality. The hope is that the 20 acres of the Arroyo Seco stream between the Devil\'s Gate Dam and the Colorado Street Bridge will eventually be able to sustain the arroyo chub, a native fish that once thrived in the stream. \"For about a million years, there\'s been a ferocious little stream that comes roaring out of the mountains ... on its way to the Los Angeles River,\" said Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation and chairman of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. \"As it carved its way, it also carved its way into the history and culture of Southern California.\" He said settlers, from Native Americans to Spaniards to Mexicans, appreciated the stream \"and loved what it represented.\" Although he noted that it would be impossible to recreate the conditions that existed there 200 years ago - prior to major settlement in the area - he said the program seeks to do its best to restore the area to its most natural state. Senior project manager Wendy Katagi of CDM in Los Angeles, a consulting, engineering, construction and operations firm working for the program, explained that the first step will be to create a dry streambed in Rose Bowl Parking Lot I so that storm-water runoff that runs through it will be \"cleansed naturally through stream water bins.\" That portion of the program is scheduled to take place in March and April. Then, in June and July, nearby hiking and equestrian trails will be improved to control erosion, reduce sediment deposits in the Arroyo Seco, and manage waste from horses and dogs using the trails. Katagi said the entire program should be finished by August. Wearing jeans, Mayor Bill Bogaard joined Brick and other program officials in planting a young oak tree near the site. He said the project would serve as a model for stream and water restoration in the region and in the state. \"What\'s exciting about this project is the leverage and the importance it promises to have,\" said Bogaard. molly.okeon@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496 |
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