Wednesday, August 21, 2002 Study on Arroyo to be released By Lisa Faught Staff Writer PASADENA -- From the peaks of the San Gabriel mountains to the urban neighborhoods of Los Angeles, a concrete river runs through it. The Arroyo Seco, sections of which have been replaced with concrete channels to control sporadic flooding, stretches for 22 miles through the Angeles National Forest, La Canada Flintridge, Altadena, Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles. But tonight, the Arroyo Seco Foundation and North East Trees will formally release a two-volume, 355-page report on how to restore the entire watershed and return the river to its natural state. The watershed study will be released during a presentation at 6:30 p.m. in the Ramo Auditorium at Caltech. The report, more than two years in the making, lists 77 recommended projects spanning five jurisdictions for restoring the 46.6-square-mile watershed, some of which are already under way. The goal is to piece together a greenbelt flanking the Arroyo Seco, in hopes of increasing open space for wildlife, improving water quality, preserving cultural resources and expanding recreation. The projects range from removing the Brown Mountain Dam in the Angeles National Forest to make way for fish, to linking the museums in Highland Park with a walkway, to tearing out the concrete channel south of Devil's Gate Dam and replacing it with a natural stream. Even if the agencies secured the millions of dollars needed to finish all the projects, it is difficult to predict if they would completely restore the watershed, said Tim Brick, managing director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation. But the projects could mean the return of fish to the river, safe water for people and the chance to advance urban stream restoration, he said. "The projects, taken as a package, are a blueprint for environmental management," Brick said. "There's a growing sense among people to restore places like the Arroyo Seco because they're too precious to watch being eaten away by creeping urbanism." To oversee the report, a technical review committee comprised of representatives from 14 city, county, state and federal government agencies met monthly to give input on the restoration projects. The collaboration allowed for a broader vision for the watershed, rather than each government agency plotting its own course for a single segment of the river, said Claire Robinson, executive director of North East Trees. "Some of our most important work was to get these people in the same room," Robinson said. Before any of these projects could move forward, local cities and government agencies must agree to find funding and take on the projects, some of which could take years to complete, said Eileen Takata, project manager at North East Trees. "What are all the steps that need to happen for a segment of concrete to come out? Many, many projects would need to happen first," Takata said. "This is all theoretical, but I don't think it's that far off." The report is the latest in a series on the Arroyo Seco, but the first to look at the watershed as a whole. To date, studies of the Arroyo Seco include a master plan by the U.S. Forest Service, a historic restoration plan for the Arroyo Seco Parkway by Caltrans, a watershed study by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and a critical habitat study for the endangered arroyo toad by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most recently, the city of Pasadena released its master plan and environmental impact report for the Arroyo Seco, listing detailed projects for Hahamongna Watershed Park, Central Arroyo and Lower Arroyo. But on the question of removing the flood control channel, the city is standing back until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes a study examining the effects of scrapping the concrete, said Rosa Laveaga, Arroyo Seco park supervisor for Pasadena. "We applaud their work and everything they've done," Laveaga said. "We'll have to figure out how to blend the documents and where to make compromises." -- Lisa Faught can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496, or by e-mail at lisa.faughtsgvn.com.

NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C., section 107, some material is provided without permission from the copyright owner, only for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of federal copyright laws. These materials may not be distributed further, except for "fair use," without permission of the copyright owner.