Arroyo "Water Reuse" Program" Hits a Snag

Pasadena and South Pasadena have stirred up a hornet's nest with the so-called "Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project." Residents of the San Pascual neighborhood, near the intersection of Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles, have filed a lawsuit to protest damage to their beloved San Pascual Park to irrigate a golf course in South Pasadena.

The Save San Pascual Park group has raised some serious questions about the project that proponents call a "stormwater capture" program to clean up the Arroyo Seco stream. The concerns have surfaced since Pasadena staff slipped project approval past the Pasadena City Council in June on the consent agenda without any discussion. Council members were unaware that a key part of the project will be in a Los Anglees city park, or that the water rights are problematic, or that the land is sacred to indigenous people.

The biggest failure of the project, though, is that it does not respect the natural character of the Arroyo Seco or fit it into an integrated approach to enhancing the stream and watershed to meet the challenges of dwindlng water supplies and climate change.

What Does the San Gabriel Mountains Monument Expansion Mean for the Arroyo Seco?

Hahamongna Committee Lives On

Members of the Hahamongna Watershed Park Advisory Committee, an official Pasadena citizen body, recently voted to reaffirm the key role the committee provides for oversight and accountabiity in planning the future of the watershed park at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains.

HWPAC needs several new members who care deeply about our region's greatest greatest natural Treasure. Meetings are every other month. If you are interested in helping shape the future of the watershed park, let us know at stewards@arroyoseco.org

Stewards of the Arroyo Seco, PO Box 92722, Pasadena, CA 91109-2722 stewards@arroyoseco.org