Tag: groundwater

How to create a clean water alley, Part 5

Posted on by nancysteele

While the concrete cured, the crew focused on several elements as illustrated in the following photographs

Refining grade elevations for the bio-swale.
Refining grade elevations for the bio-swale.
Prepping the wall for paint.
Using a roller prevents overspray into adjacent properties
Using a roller prevents overspray into adjacent properties

At the end of November, rain was predicted, and with an incomplee bio-swale, the crew protected the project site from sediment carried in runoff. Construction was halted for several days.

Preparing for rain

Preparing for rain

Rain delayed construction

Rain delayed construction

The storm was an opportunity to see how run-off would flow through the bio-swale.

When it was dry enough to work, the crew focused on completing the forebay and the weir apron.

Placing cobble in the forebay.
Placing cobble in the forebay.
Cobble in forebay almost complete.
Cobble in forebay almost complete.

If you’ve ever wondered, bollards” are structural elements – often posts – that allow pedestrians access but block vehicles from entry. Bollards at the entries of the Paseo make it easier for pedestrians, strollers, and carts to acces the Paseo.

Placing the bollards
Placing the bollards
Making sure the bollard is level.
Making sure the bollard is level.

During the final days of construction, the crew installed the green screen, refined the eleveation points for the bio-swale, and planted more than 10,000 plants native to southern California.

A green screen provides a structure for native vines to grow and adds an element of interest to the length of the Paseo.

Installing the green screen.
Installing the green screen.
Final bio-swale elevation points.
Final bio-swale elevation points.
Placed, spaced, and ready for planting.
Native plants placed, spaced, and ready for planting.
Bio-swale planted…
…and mulched.

A resident appreciated the opportunity to test the “strollability” of the almost complete Paseo.

Testing the ‘strollability’.

The Paseo, ready for pedestrians and rain.

Paseo north entry

The Council for Watershed Health would like to express our appreciation to the residents adjacent to the Paseo and in the neighborhood for their patience with the various construction activities.

We also thank our project funders:

Urban Greening Proposition 84, Strategic Growth Councill, State of California

Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy

Proposition O, Bureau of Sanitation, City of Los Angeles

Department of Water & Power, City of Los Angeles

Turning Yards Into Rain Gardens

Posted on by nancysteele
Iris

Is California still in a drought? The state thinks so. Or maybe we should stop talking about a “drought,” which implies a short term situation beyond our control, and start talking about a water crisis. In May the state upped its delivery of water through the massive state water project to 45 percent of requests. They started the year promising 5% of requests. So this is a good thing, right? Since when is 45% a good thing? The “normal” delivery (over the past 10 years) has been 68% of requests.

Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin said “While the increase in deliveries is good news, we will continue to have a water supply crisis until we improve our conveyance system, increase storage and resolve the complex environmental problems of the Delta.”

Solutions? We need to use water, of course, but we are also victims of engineering. The system is designed to direct good rain into storm drains and send it to the ocean, bypassing the soil and groundwater basins. This way we lose enough water every year to supply over a million people. In the words of Dorothy Green, we need to unpave LA!

By turning yards into rain gardens and streets into water recharge facilities, we can ensure we have enough clean water for the future.

We took a small step in that direction with the completion of Elmer Avenue this May. Elmer recharges 16 acre feet a year, which is enough water to replace that used by residents of the street plus a few more households. Plus with their new drought tolerant and native landscaping and education about water conservation, we expect the residents will be using even less water into the future.

We have more pictures on our website.

Elmer Avenue bioswale working to capture and infiltrate rain

Is Your Garden a Working Landscape?

Posted on by nancysteele

Gardens on Elmer Avenue in Sun Valley hold rainwater and recharge the aquifer, replacing what they use…and they are pretty, too. I’ll be talking more about Elmer Avenue in the next few weeks, telling the story of the street from research and conception to implementation.

Bioswale in the Rain