May 18th at TreePeople
I am delighted to invite you to join me at an important state event we are hosting next week. For twenty years, TreePeople has demonstrated the technical, economic and social feasibility of rainwater harvesting and watershed management to create a sustainable local water supply. We are pleased to host a special California State Assembly Hearing on the “Future of Stormwater: Capture, Store and Supply.”
When: Friday, May 18,2012
- 10:00 am tour of the LaKretz Urban Watershed Garden and TreePeople’s 216,000 gallon cisternand unique urban rainwater harvesting facilities.
- Hearing from 10:30 am -12:30 pm. Public testimony to follow.
Where:
The LEED Platinum Conference Center at the TreePeople Center for Community Forestry, 12601 Mulholland Drive, at the intersection of Coldwater Canyon Blvd.
What:
This hearing of the State Assembly’s Select Committee on Regional Approaches to Addressing the State’s Water Crisis, chaired by Assemblyman Jose Solorio, will highlight innovations that government agencies and organizations, including TreePeople, have built over the past 20 years. These demonstrate how harvesting and better managing local rainwater can be scaled region-wide to provide a substantial portion of our water supply.
Join us and learn with our legislators about the tremendous opportunities as well as the obstacles that must be addressed to allow a major investment in developing rainwater into a vital local water supply.
Please see the attached agenda for details.
How:
Space is limited. To register, RSVP to Gordon Welty – gwelty@treepeople.org. or call (818) 623-4870. Registration deadline: Wednesday, May 16th.
In appreciation for your support of the vision and work which has made this possible,
Andy Lipkis,
President and Founder
By Alec Mackie
LABS of CWEA
The LA Basin’s water situation is looking grim – aging infrastructure, tighter regulations, rising energy costs, falling municipal budgets, pumping restrictions in the Sacramento Delta and a drought along the Colorado River. It all adds up less water for LA.
Despite all the challenges there are glimmers of hope, according to speakers at LABS’ World Water Day LA Seminar held March 22 at the LA Chamber of Commerce. LA’s water future actually looks pretty bright if we recycle more water, capture more rainwater and rethink how cities work with water.
LABS’ Past President Hala Titus of Black & Veatch started the seminar by listing cities and the amount they import – from 50% for Long Beach to 60% for Pasadena and 85% for the City of Los Angeles. Ms. Titus then shared an inspiring story about the City of Santa Monica. The City and Black & Veatch recently finished a groundwater filtration plant to remove MTBE and purify the drinking water, and the City cut its water supply needs to only 22% imported. The City wants to get to 100% local supplies by 2020.
The burden of addressing stormwater pollution is a challenge every city is facing. Engineer Russ Bryden with the LA County Dept. of Public Works will explain the Water Quality Funding Initiative – a ballot initiative that, if approved by the voters, will provide an on-going stable funding source to enhance water quality through implementation of clean water projects and programs while reducing pollution in stormwater and urban runoff. If the voters do not approve the Water Quality Funding Initiative, cities will have to continue funding water quality improvement needs from general funds or other less reliable sources.
Thursday March 29th
6 pm Mixer, 7 pm Dinner
Monterey Hill Steakhouse
3700 W Ramona Blvd
Monterey Park 91754
(323) 264-8426
RSVP by March 23rd
alecm@jwce.com
or call Alec Mackie
(714) 428-4614
See flyer for more info
A nine-acre park at Avalon Boulevard and 54th Street offers walking paths, native plants and pools with bacteria that clean polluted storm water.
It took three years and more than $26 million to turn an old MTA bus yard in South Los Angeles into what it is today: a sprawling park and urban wetland that will store and clean millions of gallons of storm water — while also giving children a place to play.
Unlike most parks, which feature green lawns and picnic tables, this one is composed of walking paths, native plants and several kidney-shaped pools filled with storm water. Naturally occurring bacteria clean pollutants from the water, which eventually feeds into a storm drain.
Tons of trash normally swept to the ocean by the Los Angeles River should be captured by thousands of trash screens that have been installed beneath nearly every storm drain in the lower reaches of the river. The project is believed to be the largest debris-capturing effort in the nation and marks the most aggressive attack yet on river trash in the Los Angeles region. The project spans 16 cities and is expected to keep 840,000 pounds of debris — the equivalent of about 450 Volkswagen Beetles — from reaching the ocean each year, according to the Gateway Authority, a coalition of cities and public water agencies in southeastern L.A. County.
The biggest winner from the project is Long Beach, where workers routinely have to scoop floating islands of plastic bottles, grocery bags and other debris flowing from dozens of communities upstream before it litters the city’s coastline. In August 2010, crews began installing the stainless-steel, full-capture trash devices inside nearly 12,000 catch basins. The simple mesh contraptions sit just below the drains where water from city streets flows into the storm-water system and can catch debris as small as a cigarette butt.
Another 5,400 drains in the most-littered areas also were outfitted with street-level retractable screens as a second layer of defense.
Los Angeles County is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied a rehearing of Natural Resources Defense Council, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al. on July 13. The landmark appellate ruling, made in March, stated that cities with municipal separate storm sewer (MS4) permits are strictly liable for all stormwater runoff pollution at their monitoring stations, regardless of whether the pollutant originated outside the MS4 system. Even if the municipality is working to address known violations—an iterative process—penalties may be incurred.
The lawsuit was brought against the county because the county’s flood control district exceeded the pollutant limits of its MS4 permit. However, the county claims that upstream neighbors are responsible for some of the pollutant loads. There are concerns that this ruling could lead to litigation between municipalities regarding who is responsible for stormwater pollutants.
The biggest conference and exhibition in the wastewater and stormwater world is coming to Los Angeles Oct 15-19. WEF has kindly compiled a list of the California presenters (wow over 100 people !) – how many CWEA members can you spot?
Click here for a list of California speakers and session numbers (Excel) >
Click here to access My WEFTEC Planner >
***Due to popular demand, this event is Sold Out***
It’s an environmental learning experience for children of all ages. It’s home to five coastal habitats and SoCal’s only coastal prairie. It’s an oasis. It’s an environmental cleaning machine for the ocean.
It’s the heart of Malibu. It’s one smart park. The Legacy Park Project, the centerpiece of the City of Malibu’s $50 million dollar commitment to clean water, is a cutting-edge concept with far-reaching civic, educational, and environmental benefits for residents, visitors, and the generations to come.
Employing state-of-the-art technology, it is a central park that will work as an environmental cleaning machine, reducing pollution impacts in Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, and the world famous Surfrider Beach, and will provide a
living learning center for five coastal habitats.
Featured Dinner Speakers:
Bob Brager, Public Works Director, City of Malibu
Elizabeth Shavelson, Public Works Analyst, City of Malibu
Steve Clary, Principal, RMC Water & Environment
When:
Thursday, July 29, 2011
5:00 p.m. Tour
6:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. Presentation
Where:
Tour: Stormwater Treatment Facility
(salmon colored building):
Legacy Park
23500 Civic Center Way
Malibu 90265
Dinner: Guido’s Malibu (walk next door)
3874 Cross Creek Road, Malibu
RSVP:
By July 22nd with meal choice to:
alecm@jwce.com or call Alec Mackie
at (714) 428-4614.
See flyer for more information
New BMP Database Results for Four Pollutant Categories and Volume Control Too!
Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Time: 02:00 to 03:00 PM EDT
Duration: 60 Minutes
Price: FREE TO WERF SUBSCRIBERS
What level of treatment is typical for various BMPs and green infrastructure practices? What pollutant removal mechanisms do they employ? How can I use this information to help select and design effective stormwater controls?
Representatives from the International Stormwater BMP Database will answer these questions and more, as they provide stormwater managers, consultants, and others with the latest BMP performance evaluation results for four pollutant categories – bacteria, nutrients, sediment, and metals – as well as volume reduction.
This evaluation is based on analysis of the data contained in the International Stormwater BMP Database and is summarized in a new series of technical memos. To learn more, visit www.bmpdatabase.org.
The 2012 CWEA P3S Conference seeks presentations for workshop sessions in the following tracks:
- Non-Industrial Source Control
- Pretreatment Automation Tools
- Pretreatment 101 – how and why did the pretreatment regulations come to be
- Regulatory Issues
- EPA Audit Experiences
- Stormwater Issues
- Pollution Prevention Outreach Successes
- Permit Writing War Stories
The 2012 CWEA P3S Conference will be held February 27-29, 2012 in Southern California.
We would love to have you present your work and interesting “war stories” as we all spend some time learning together. Please send a brief description of your presentation for consideration to Mike Zedek (mzedek@ocsd.com).
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new strategy to promote the use of green infrastructure by cities and towns to reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes the nation’s streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems. In addition to protecting Americans’ health by decreasing water pollution, green infrastructure provides many community benefits including increased economic activity and neighborhood revitalization, job creation, energy savings and increased recreational and green space.
Large volumes of polluted stormwater degrade the nation’s rivers, lakes and aquatic habitats and contribute to downstream flooding. Green infrastructure captures and filters pollutants by passing stormwater through soils and retaining it on site. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems.
As part of the strategy, EPA will work with partners including local governments, watershed groups, tribes and others in ten cities that have utilized green infrastructure and have plans for additional projects. EPA will encourage and support expanded use of green infrastructure in these cities and highlight them as models for other municipalities around the country. The ten cities are: Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Jacksonville, FL.; Kansas City, MO.; Los Angeles, CA; Puyallup, WA; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. and neighboring Anacostia Watershed communities.
EPA will continue to work with other federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, municipalities, and the private sector to identify opportunities for using green infrastructure and provide assistance to communities implementing green approaches to control stormwater. EPA will also provide additional tools to help states and communities leverage green infrastructure opportunities within other innovative environmental projects.
For more information on EPA’s green infrastructure agenda: http://epa.gov/greeninfrastructure
A year after work was completed on an elaborate system in Hermosa Beach that prevents storm water from reaching the ocean, the project has earned the city another prestigious prize.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week named the Strand Infiltration Project as the winner of the 2010 Performance and Innovation in the State Revolving Fund Creating Environmental Success – or PISCES – Award.
The award was created in 2005 and recognizes public works projects aimed at cutting down environmental pollution that are efficiently designed, managed and financed.
“It is truly an honor for the city and everyone involved in this project to have this recognition for all of the hard work and planning that went into the Strand Infiltration Trench Project,” Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker said in a statement. “Our city is committed to exploring new opportunities to make Hermosa Beach green.”
It is the second award the city has received for the ambitious project, which prevents filthy storm water from reaching local waters off the coast. In December, the Strand Infiltration Trench was named Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association.
City engineers designed the project to take advantage of the city’s location – on a massive sand dune – by using sand as a natural filtration system for polluted urban water runoff.
Work was completed in April and funded with about $950,850 in American Recovery and Reinvestment
The infiltration trench lies underground and stretches about 1,000 feet south of the city’s pier, collecting storm water and filtering it before returning it to groundwater tables.
Water is collected in city storm drains and processed through a pretreatment system, which removes trash, sediment and other toxins. The storm water is then filtered by sand to remove bacteria as it slowly flows safely to replenish ground water.
The infiltration trench is the second public works project completed by city engineers within the last year aimed at reducing the beach town’s environmental footprint.
In October, work was completed on the Pier Avenue Beautification Project. Improvements to the city’s main thoroughfare include wider sidewalks, a landscape center median and an additional storm drain and water-filtration system that further keeps polluted water from reaching the ocean.
The recent EPA award is the second the city has received from the agency for the pair of recently completed public works projects.
In December, the Pier Avenue project earned a 2010 Environmental Achievement Award from the EPA.
Hermosa Beach officials say the successful projects – and the national attention they are receiving – are proof the city is moving forward with bold environmental initiatives.
“We’re pushing the envelope when it comes to improving the environment,” Councilman Michael DiVirgilio, who has been leading the city’s environmental agenda, said in December. “And we’re doing it aggressively.”
City Manager Steve Burrell, who traveled to Sacramento last week on behalf of the city to accept the award, touted city engineers for their work on the project and said the new system has not encountered any problems, despite recent heavy rains.
“It’s a demonstration project and the idea is to show that this type of system could work,” Burrell said.
Southern California laid miles of pipe and tunneled through mountains to import water. But it also built a storm drain system to quickly get rid of rainfall. The contradiction played out again this week.
Sixteen cities in southeast L.A. county are installing screens under storm drains that flow into the L.A. River. The project could keep 840,000 pounds of debris from reaching the ocean a year.
Every time it rains, workers in Long Beach rush to the mouth of the Los Angeles River to scoop up the floating islands of plastic bottles, grocery bags and other debris before it’s all swept onto local beaches or pulled out to sea.
LABS has posted a new set of videos on CWEA’s YouTube site. The hour-long six-part series is a recording of its April dinner meeting, which featured Sam Espinoza from the LA Sanitation Districts of LA County speaking about wastewater collection system operation and maintenance.
Comment on this post and let us know what you think. Does your workplace allow access to YouTube? Are the videos useful for information sharing? Want to provide footage of your events or tours of your facility?
Water, along with plastic bags and other trash, rushes head-on into a metal stormdrain gate that will soon be installed in 16 cities upstream along the Los Angeles River. Credit: Long Beach Post
About 12,000 metal gates will be installed at the opening of stormdrains in sixteen cities that empty into the Los Angeles River, as a measure to reduce pollution that accumulates in the river and ultimately, the Pacific Ocean and the coast of Long Beach.
By: Wendy Wert, LABS Vice President
On July 22, 2010, the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) presented an overview of Los Angeles County’s Stormwater Monitoring programs. The featured speaker was Oliver D. Galang, P.E., Section Manager with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works’ Watershed Management Division. Oliver described the Los Angeles County’s existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Program and provided an update of efforts to modernize and expand these into a systemwide water quality monitoring system.
California beaches violated water quality standards fewer times than usual last year. That’s a key finding of a national report the Natural Resources Defense Council released this morning. The conclusion isn’t as good as it may sound.
Beaches in the Golden State tested dirty less often than before – particularly in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties – because testers sampled for bacteria at state beaches less often than before. “It’s really a case of ‘what you don’t look for, you don’t find,’” says Noah Garrison, a lawyer for the NRDC.
He adds that the culprit is a shrunken state budget. “We’re simply monitoring the beaches less. Often that’s in the wintertime, but that’s still a concern because people really visit the beaches year-round in California,” he says.
Ventura County cut sampling in the winter and spring; Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties saw around 60 percent drops in frequency. Some beaches Orange County used to test daily were tested weekly; overall Orange County’s testing dropped by a quarter. Los Angeles County recorded a 38% drop – not as bad as it could have been, Garrison said, mainly because regional water regulators have required sampling as a top priority.
In winter months, stormwater sends bacteria into the ocean as rainfall carries more pollutants into drains. But even in summer months, Garrison says water quality wasn’t necessarily improving. “During summer months the percent of samples that did not meet bacterial health standards for L.A. County and for Orange County remained about the same as it was in 2008, or in many cases actually was worse,” Garrison says.
The NRDC report points out that known sources of contamination at California beaches are a tiny fraction of the total. Unknown sources make up three-quarters of reported contamination; “no data” counts for 13 percent more. That could be stormwater, or sewage; nobody knows.
Some of the dirtiest beaches are the usual suspects: Surfrider Beach in Malibu, Santa Monica State Beach near the pier, Cabrillo Beach, Newport Bay. Garrison says beaches popular with tourists and locals are vital to the coastal and state economy. “To be allowing them to become a public health threat where not enough monitoring is done so people don’t know whether the beach they’re swimming at is safe for them to be in the water at, we really can’t continue that practice and hope that our economy will continue to thrive,” he says.
Federal stimulus money has followed this logic. In Hermosa Beach, the Environmental Protection Agency gave the city 1-and-a-third million dollars to reduce and clean stormwater runoff at Pier Street. The project includes a greywater component; wastewater will be recycled to feed plants in a pedestrian park at the area.
To learn more about the NRDC report, please join us on September 16 for a LABS luncheon with Senior Attorney David Beckman from the NRDC for a discussion of triple bottom line solutions that address regional stormwater from an inclusive perspective.
During the rainy season, the city of L.A. sends 100 million gallons of untreated runoff into the Pacific Ocean.
Tuesday, the city’s engineering department signed off on six standard plans that can be used to prevent some of the flow coming from parkways, highways, alleyways and cemented curb areas and divert it into the ground where it can recharge groundwater and prevent pollutants from reaching waterways. The plans give specific guidelines for installing swales, vegetation, permeable pavement and other systems to prevent storm water from flowing over nonporous surfaces into storm drains.
“What we’re trying to do here is take storm water or urban runoff and infiltrate it in streets or alleys and make it consistent so that people aren’t frustrated with trying to do something innovative,” said Gary Moore, engineer for the city of L.A. “We’ve developed standard plans, we’ve done the details, we’ve done the engineering to enable the city or a developer to use the plans to implement the desired solution.”
Developed in partnership with the city’s Board of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation and Bureau of Engineering, the standard plans have been in the works for six months and will be available for free online starting July 9 at http://www.eng.lacity.org.
“There are more than 6,500 miles of streets in Los Angeles,” Moore said of the plans that will be used for street reconstruction, street widening, landscape medians and other projects. “There’s a lot of potential.”
Moving aggressively forward to improve water quality and protect public health at the world-renowned Paradise Cove, the City of Malibu today hosted a beach party and picnic to celebrate the launch of its Clean Ocean Project, an innovative facility to capture, clean and disinfect stormwater and urban runoff before it reaches the Pacific.
