[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 1/17/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

January 17, 2008

 

3. Watersheds

 

Las Virgenes Creek restoration in Calabasas nears completion

Agora Hills Acorn – 1/16/08

By Judi Uthus, Special to The Acorn

 

Workers are close to completing the $1.24-million restoration of Las Virgenes Creek near the Albertsons Shopping Center on Agoura Road in Calabasas. When the 400-foot portion of the creek is liberated from its concrete shell- installed more than three decades ago as a flood control measure- passersby will see green plants and wildlife instead of graffiti and trash.

 

Starting in the 1950s, many of the urban streams in the Los Angeles basin were converted to concrete-lined flood control channels to allow for the rapid removal of water during periods of heavy rain.

 

In 1985, California established an urban streams restoration program to assist communities with restoring their creeks and streams to a more natural state, while making sure the waterways still had the ability to serve as flood control channels.

 

And while Northern California has been taking advantage of the program since its inception, Southern California has been slow to participate. The Las Virgenes project was 14 years in the planning.

 

"Communities are starting to realize that these natural waterways should not be turned into sewers," said Sydney Temple, civil engineer and hydrologist with Questa Engineering Corp., a San Francisco bay area environmental consulting firm that directed the Calabasas work.

 

"Cemented-in flood channels have zero habitat value, no water cleansing and generate thermal pollution," Temple said.

 

Phase one of the restoration project began last summer with the removal of 3,600 cubic yards of concrete followed by intensive grading, reseeding and replanting.

 

"Since it was a new concept for all the parties involved, we had no guidelines to follow and spent several years studying the project from every angle- the bioengineering, the ecology, the public safety, and the aesthetics," said Alex Farassati, Calabasas' environmental services manager.

 

"The project ideally fits within the desires of the community and we will continue with other creek restorations in our master planning," Farassati said.

 

Several environmental agencies supported the effort in the hopes that it will improve water quality and provide vital resources for the semi-arid region.

 

The State Water Resource Control Board, the California Coastal Conservancy and the Department of Water Resources assisted Calabasas with the construction funding.

 

"Calabasas had the vision to show that a project like this can be done in Los Angeles," said Jessica Hall, stream restoration coordinator for the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission. Hall said urban stream projects provide immediate community benefits.

 

"Natural streams can be brought back and future development should preserve present ones," she said. "Both people and wildlife would enjoy an improved quality of life in the region."

 

According to Susan Woolam, environmental scientist with the state Water Resources Department, "The restoration project resolves flood control issues and will also provide recreational opportunities."

 

A $140,000 grant from Los Angeles County helped pay for phase two of the project, which included construction of a creekside park, viewing gazebo, footpath, and trail connections for pedestrian and bike access.

 

"Northern California is way ahead of us of us in projects like this and we hope that local policymakers will begin to pursue them more actively," said Debbie Bruschaber, project manager for Mountains Restoration Trust, a land protection agency in the Santa Monica Mountains that recently restored a waterway along Dry Canyon Creek at Headwaters Corner in Calabasas.

 

The Headwaters Corner restoration also involved the removal of concrete and asphalt rubble that was choking a smaller watershed located at the urbanwildlife interface. "I hope these restoration projects become a model for urban designers, developers and engineers to raise the bar and incorporate natural urban planning in future developments," Bruschaber said.

 

Mountains Restoration Trust will assist the city with monitoring the project once it's completed, as plants, mammals and fish begin to return to their newly created home.

 

The Ventura Chapter of the American Public Works Association recently named Las Virgenes Creek the APWA 2007 Project of the Year.  #

http://www.theacorn.com/news/2008/0117/Community/005.html

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