hi everyone
        take a look at the amazing watershed projects happening in LA, the lead folks over the years have been TreePeople  www.treepeople.org/ , they are designing a watershed design that deals with water at the household level to larger projects that do away with the need to develop large concrete drainage age systems that destroy natural waterways.
        It is amazing what they are doing ,Andy Lipkis founder of TreePeople spoke of this project at Bioneers planetary sessions, to get a copy of his speech go to there website www.bioneers.org
                wes

Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group Los Angeles

http://www.sunvalleywatershed.org/

The mission of the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group is to solve the local flooding problem while retaining all stormwater runoff from the watershed, increasing water conservation, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat, and reducing stormwater pollution.

 

There's something exciting going on in Sun Valley! A serious effort to solve the area's chronic flooding problem is underway, but that's not the half of it. Planners envision a solution that will bring many other benefits to the community as well. The implementation here of what's known as a "watershed approach" to urban environmental problems could focus regional and national attention on Sun Valley. On this website, we'll provide both an introduction to the Sun Valley Watershed Project and a clearinghouse for project information. We hope you'll find the site informative and useful - maybe even inspiring!

Sun Valley is a district of the northeast San Fernando Valley, known to many Angelenos as the site of gravel pits and innumerable media stories about seriously flooded intersections. As they do in much of the urban area, hard surfaces dominate the Sun Valley landscape and prevent the ground from absorbing stormwater runoff. But Sun Valley lacks the infrastructure that, in much of the city, quickly carries runoff to the ocean. The result is a chronic flooding problem that often inconveniences and sometimes endangers the area's 80,000 residents.

Stormwater runoff in urban areas is the focus of a lot of regulatory attention these days because all those hard surfaces aggravate downstream flooding and contribute pollutants to our streams and the ocean. For these reasons, among others, traditional storm drains are no longer considered the best way of managing stormwater, and local government agencies are working to find effective alternatives.

Those agencies, along with area residents, businesses and environmental groups, have come together to develop a flood control plan for Sun Valley that will also address water quality issues, while providing a number of additional benefits to the community - benefits such as water conservation and more space for recreation and wildlife habitat. Monthly meetings of the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group are facilitated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, which is taking the lead on this innovative project.

The Department has hired a consultant team that includes the engineering firm Montgomery Watson Harza and the environmental nonprofit group TreePeople. The team is working on a watershed management plan to meet the goals outlined in the Group's mission statement, printed above. The team is also charged with outreach and public education tasks - understanding local concerns, informing residents of the underlying issues and promoting the benefits of a multipurpose plan.

The selection and design of several pilot projects in the watershed, the development of this website, and the publication of the Watershed Events newsletter are among the team's early efforts. All of our efforts are aimed at developing multipurpose projects to control the flooding in Sun Valley, while improving the community in other ways as well. We need your support, and we'd appreciate hearing your ideas and concerns. Find out about opportunities to learn and to help under Resources and Get Involved.

Click for a map of the Sun Valley watershed. on website

Stakeholder Process

The stakeholder process is underway in a number of Los Angeles-area watersheds. Its purpose is to get all the interested (and responsible) parties working together on decisions that affect the health of our watersheds and the quality of our lives. This linked list of Sun Valley stakeholders is maintained by the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

The Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group was formed late in 1998 to develop holistic solutions to the chronic flooding in the area, solutions that will bring other benefits to the community as well. We meet once a month, at locations within the watershed, to explore ideas and proposals, implement short-term solutions to flood-related problems and plan public education and outreach activities. As you can read in our mission statement below, we're looking for solutions that will also conserve water, reduce pollution, beautify the community and increase park space.

If you're looking at this page, you're almost certainly a stakeholder. If you'd like to formalize that status by attending stakeholder meetings, please take a look at the Ground Rules; details of upcoming meetings are at Meetings/Events.

Watershed Event  quarterly publication

Watershed Events is a quarterly publication, in English and Spanish, of the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group. Its main purpose is to facilitate communication between the Group and the community. Sun Valley residents, and others interested in the progress of watershed management in the area, will find the most recent information in its pages. The newsletter is available at public sites throughout Sun Valley. If you can’t find a copy, or need extras, contact David O’Donnell at (818) 623-4884 or dodonnell@treepeople.org.
        
        
The mission of the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group is to solve the local flooding problem while retaining all stormwater runoff from the watershed, increasing water conservation, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat, and reducing stormwater pollution.

PHASE 1 PROJECT SITES

The mission of the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group is to reduce local flooding while retaining all stormwater runoff from the watershed. To this end, a comprehensive watershed-wide plan is being developed to deal with the flooding while also providing a number of other benefits to the community. Early projects at a few Phase 1 sites will serve as models for subsequent work throughout the watershed. The implementation of some or all of the projects listed here would result in a noticeable reduction in area flooding over the next few years.

The stakeholders' Site Selection Subcommittee reviewed many potential project sites in the Sun Valley area. In order to be considered for a potential project, a site had to meet at least a couple of the Group's objectives: reduce local flooding, increase water conservation, protect and improve water quality, enhance recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. We are now discussing appropriate stormwater best management practices for each of the sites and negotiating with site owners and potential project partners. Each site presents its own challenges and no site is guaranteed a project, but they all have great potential to reduce local flooding and provide those additional benefits.


Completed Demonstration Sites

We have included a few examples of existing projects in the Los Angeles area. These projects clearly demonstrate the benefits of retrofitting a site to capture stormwater. From mulching to cisterns, each project incorporates techniques that, used community-wide, can reduce stormwater runoff, collect much-needed water for future use, add recreational space and green the community.

Pan Pacific Park        Broadous Elementary School      Hall House




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