Let's Put the Brook Back In Brookside
July 28, 2025 - The Pasadena Public Works Department recently has posted a survey asking local residents what they think about the Brookside Stormwater Capture Project. Well, the engineers are not really asking about what you think about the project. Rather, they are telling you what the project is and asking how you would want to prettify it. They are very clear about the methodology and underground technology they intend to use, but they will let you indicate that you like trees, pedestrian safety, or other urban park amenties. That's what they think "community engagement" is. Here's the survey.
We have the same problem with the Brookside project that we have with the San Rafael/San Pascual project, for which the engineers are now preparing an Environment Impact Report. Pasadena is not treating the Arroyo Seco like the river that it is.
The Seco Street "drain," formerly a small tributary on the east side of the Rose Bowl, was buried in a big pipeline many decades ago. Nobody thinks much about it, but it consistently dumps a lot of trash, bacteria and other contaminants into the Arroyo Seco just south of the Rose Bowl.
What Does it Mean to Restore the Arroyo Seco?
Arroyo Seco restoration is not about burying the stream or putting bandaids on the crippling "improvements" that have been installed in the last hundred years. It means restoring the natural hydrology and functions of the Arroyo Seco stream and watershed as much as possible. That will bring back healthy habitat and wildlife to our area and let the public know about the rich values of local natural resources and how to develop a resilient water program. That will prepare us for dealing with climate change.
The conceptual plan that Pasadena is now showing off consists of filtering trash from the Seco stream and creating an eleven acre subterranean water percolation zone to recharge groundwater beneath the Brookside Park parking lot.
That's good, but basically the engineers are burying the stream again, like they did many decades ago when they put it into a big pipe. Wouldn't it be far better if they would reconnect some of the normal flow of the Seco Street stream to the Arroyo Seco stream and restore wetlands at the confluence? Put the brook back into Brookside.
Twenty years ago there was a project in this park called the Brookside Park Best Management Practices Program, also known as the Central Arroyo Seco Stream Restoration Program. It improved the water quality going into the main stream and brought the Arroyo Chub, a native fish, back to the Arroyo. At that time, planners considered a full stream restoration, but time constraints did not allow that.