Save the Arroyo Seco! Beginning this winter the City of Los Angeles began the Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco Low Flow Diversion Project which diverts water in an effort to treat and recycle wastewater. However, while the plan to divert this water is supposed to be to “improve water quality”, the water from the Arroyo is being diverted to the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which is being sued by residents of El Segundo for what the LA Times calls a “near catastrophic” 17 million gallon spill of toxic hydrogen sulfide. Even in a best case scenario the overall effect on the environment would be negligible, while simultaneously destroying the local riparian (or river based) ecosystem of the Arroyo in a city with little green space. While it may be assumed that the greatest effect would be on animals and the environment, studies have shown a lack of this green space significantly affects human health.
 
In January, Mayor Garcetti announced 28$ million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help restore the L.A. River starting at the Arroyo Seco Confluence in Cypress Park. However, if water is being diverted upstream it begs the question as to how much restoration can take place. Starting in 2001 the Army Corps of Engineers began evaluating Arroyo watershed conditions and found opportunities for ecosystem restoration as did the findings of the working group established by state assembly bill 466 and 1126. At a time when scientists have announced there is still time to avert the worst affects of the climate crisis every little bit counts!
 
It is also of note that the Arroyo Seco and the neighborhoods it bisects such as Lincoln Heights, Mount Washington, Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Montecito Heights, Highland Park, Monterey Hills, Glassell Park, Cypress Park and Sycamore Grove, and the open spaces they contain such as Deb’s Park and Elephant Hill, constitutes one of the few remaining wildlife corridors for both migratory and endangered species. Some of these animals include but are not limited to Monarch butterflies, Yellow Warblers, rabbits, and bobcats, as well as the native Rainbow trout that still populate portions of the Arroyo.  This passage extends from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Hahamongna watershed in La Canada Flintridge, and down the Arroyo to the LA River, and finally to the ecosystem along the Pacific Ocean. This project never underwent an Environmental Impact Report and was never shown to the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Additionally, the plan also directly affects historic Boyle Heights, an historically red lined community already facing significant pollution as a result of the East L.A. Interchange freeway.
 
Please help save the Arroyo by letting our representatives know we demand better for our communities and our health!

AB 466 Restoration Plan: https://www.upperlariver.org

You can read the LA City plan here: https://eng.lacity.org/about-us/divisions/environmental-management/projects/los-angeles-river-and-arroyo-seco-low-flow-diversion
 
Read more on the diversion plan at Sycamore Grove and its petition here:
https://www.arroyoseco.org/SycamoreGrovePark.htm
 
Read news coverage on this topic here:
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-06-16/trout-rescue-operation-ignites-water-war-in-pasadena
 
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-02-01/l-a-river-runoff-recycle-wastewater​

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-05/el-segundo-residents-sue-los-angeles-over-hyperion-sewage-spill