We are residents, ratepayers, and neighbors in the Crescenta Valley and surrounding communities. We are writing to demand an end to the bureaucratic impasse that has blocked the Crescenta Valley Community Regional Park Stormwater Capture Project for nearly a decade, calling on every level of government with authority over this situation to act.

The Opportunity

The Crescenta Valley Park Stormwater Capture Project offers a common sense opportunity to save water and money. Located at the SE corner of the park, the project would capture stormwater and recharge the Verdugo Aquifer with an estimated average 500 acre-feet of local water per year. 

That represents around of seventh of CV's annual water demand. For a community of 33,000 residents that currently imports approximately half of its water supply from an increasingly unreliable Colorado River system, it is essential infrastructure.

Every acre foot of water saved locally saves our community more than $1500. As LA County residents we already pay a half cent sales tax for exactly this type of stormwater project and the CV Park project was already approved by the Safe Clean Water Technical Resources Program for study.

The Obstacle

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power claims a water right over Verdugo Wash dating to the Spanish imperial era. Under this claim, our community is threatened with legal action without first purchasing replacement water from another source, a requirement that renders the project economically unworkable. Notably LADWP does not use this water in any meaningful way. Thus: 

• We call on the Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council to adopt a formal resolution stating that the Crescenta Valley stormwater project does not violate the city's water rights and amend the city charter if necessary. 
• We call on the LADWP's commissioners to direct staff to live up to the City's stated goal of increasing stormwater recharge proclaimed in its sustainability and climate action plans. 
• We call on Supervisor Barger to use the full weight of her office to convene the parties, apply public pressure, and ensure this project is not delayed another year by inaction.
• We call on the State Water Resources Control Board to support the CV Park Stormwater Project in accordance with the "reasonable use doctrine" of the California constitution in alignment with Executive Order N-16-25. 
• We call on our state legislators to intervene as necessary through legislation, regulatory action, or direct engagement with LADWP leadership, to break this impasse and authorize the Crescenta Valley to capture its own water.

Events like the LA fires last January serve as a reminder of how much we depend on each other. Rather than engage in endless bureaucratic fighting, we believe that the time is now for common sense action. Let's get this CV Park Stormwater Project done. 

(See statewide coverage of this project here.)