News of the Arroyo
Title: | Grant to fund river makeover at Encanto Park |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2008-05-12 |
Summary: | May 12, 2008 - A one thousand foot bioswale will make Encanto Park in Duarte a model of stream restoration. |
Author: | Melissa Pamer, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star-News |
Content: | DUARTE - By this time next year, Encanto Park could be edged with native plants and flowing water - part of a broader regional effort to provide access to the San Gabriel River. With a $508,000 state grant, Duarte will build a 1,000-foot-long \"bioswale,\" or natural water filtration area, along the western perimeter of the park, which features views of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains and the river canyon. The grant, approved April 28, is from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, which in 2006 provided $150,000 for planning the project. An outdoor classroom and interpretative signs will also be part of the project, funded with a $100,000 grant from county Supervisor Michael Antonovich. \"It\'s a great way to be a neighbor to our environment,\" said Duarte Assistant City Manager Karen Herrera. The bioswale - essentially a small wetlands in a narrow ditch - will filter runoff and help to solve a long-standing drainage problem at 12-acre Encanto Park. The project goes along with the city\'s pledge in 2005 to support the Emerald Necklace park network. The \"necklace\" - a vision shared by environmental advocates and San Gabriel Valley city officials - would provide increased open space and access to parks along two largely concrete-lined rivers, the San Gabriel and the Rio Hondo, from Duarte to Whittier. \"One of the most beautiful places along the San Gabriel River is in Azusa and Duarte,\" Advertisement said Belinda Faustinos, the conservancy\'s executive officer. \"The water just has that soothing, calming effect, even if it\'s a little trickle on concrete.\" Councilwoman Margaret Finlay said that her family has for years taken walks along the river, which is largely fenced off and is on land maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In recent years, Finlay said, there\'s been an increased emphasis on opening up the river and an awareness of it as an asset rather than a flood threat. Duarte officials are working with the Corps of Engineers to link Encanto Park to a nature trail along the river, to be called Encanto Nature Walk. \"It\'s just a natural to be able to go right from Encanto to an area that is really the public\'s,\" Finlay said. \"Why shouldn\'t we be allowed to walk there and see the beauty?\" Work will begin on the bioswale in September, with the hope of completing the project before the city\'s annual Wilderness Day next April, Herrera said. Officials hope to reach an agreement with the Corps of Engineers and obtain full funding for the Encanto Nature Walk by the end of this year. melissa.pamer@sgvn.com (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4475 |
Url: |