January 2025
Save San Pascual Park! Restore the Arroyo Seco!
A determined band of neighbors near San Pascual Park in the Arroyo Seco has succeeded in forcing Pasadena and South Pasadena to complete a full environmental impact report for the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Program. The settlement, which was recently completed after months of controversy, resulted from a lawsuit initiated by Clara Solis on behalf of the Save San Pascual Park group. It will require Pasadena to revise its plans and prepare a full environmental impact report.
The San Pascual group focused on the program's impact to a treasured stretch of the Arroyo Seco near where the cities of South Pasadena, Pasadena, and Los Angeles converge. Their concerns include:
- Why were local neighbors not informed of the project?
- Why is a key part of the project placed in a Los Angeles city park?
- Who has the water rights to divert from the fully appropriated Arroyo Seco stream?
- Why destroy so many trees?
- Why spend $10 million to irrigate a golf course?
- Why have Pasadena and South Pasadena ignored that this land is sacred to indigenous people?
- Etc., etc., etc.
Solis and her allies hope that the EIR process will force Pasadena and South Pasadena to respect their neighborhood and restore the natural character of the Arroyo Seco. Or will they junk it up with more pipes and plumbing to irrigate a golf course?
The Pasadena City Council has already approved the settlement agreement with Ms. Solis and the Save San Pasqual group. On Monday night, January 27, the Pasadena City Council will formally revoke the preliminary environmental report and design pllan in order to prepare a full environmental impact report.
Our region has been devastated by the recent fires. We are more than half way through the rainy seanson, but there has been no rain. Nonetheless, the threat for debris flows is high in the steep, burned hills that border many communities. In this talk, Michael Lamb, professor of geology, will discuss his team's latest research on debris flows, why they often occur after fires, and what can be done to forecast their impact.
Steelhead in the Arroyo?
Q: What does it mean that there are more than 4,000 native Rainbow Trout in the Arroyo Seco according to the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife (7/29/24)?
A: Those trout would become steelhead if they could reach the Pacific Ocean as they did for millions of years. The population of Southern California Steelhead in the Pacific Ocean is estimated to be less than 500, down from a historic population of around 40,000. The Southern California Steelhead is an endangered species and is considered to be statistically the most endangered native fish in the United States.
County Promises Arroyo Seco Ecosystem Restoration
Do you remember the Arroyo Seco Ecosystem Restoration Plan? It was promising partnership of governmental agencies and stakeholder organizations, led by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the LA County Flood Control District, that started more than twenty years ago to restore and ehnance environmental conditions in the Arroyo Seco. Regretably, the effort bogged down eight years ago, just before revealing the tentatively selected plan.
Last March County Supervisor Kathryn Barger promised to resurrect the plan, this time without the USACE.
"This study is crucial to the future of the Arroyo Seco and its neighboring communities," Supervisor Kathryn Barger said. "Once completed, the study’s results will be a blueprint that guides our County’s efforts to both restore the tributary’s ecosystem while enhancing flood protection to the Los Angeles County residents who rely on it."
Now the County is convening a task force of representatives of local cities and community groups to pursue the lofty goals that had been charted out many years ago. It's a hopeful sign that this time the partnership can develop a comprehensive plan for environmental restoration in the Arroyo Seco for the next hundred years. One that will take into consideration floods, fires, drought, and the restoration of endangered species like the Southern California Steelhead.
If you would like to learn more about the plan and how you can get involved in bringing nature back to the Arroyo Seco, please send a a message to stewards@arroyoseco.org
Supervisors Motion | Barger Revives Ecosystem Study