Los Angeles City Councilman Felipe Fuentes joined other city officials to break ground on a $3 million project to retain stormwater through permeable surfaces along Laurel Canyon Boulevard.
Permeable, vegetated areas about four-feet wide and five-feet deep will be built from street curb to sidewalk along Laurel Canyon Boulevard, between Terra Bella and Kagel Canyon streets.
Once completed, the project will allow rain water to infiltrate through swales, treated and used to replenish the San Fernando Groundwater Basin. About 13 million gallons are expected to be collected each year, enough water for about 120 single-family households annually.
Work is expected to last until Feb. 2016 and is being funded with a $2 million grant from the State Water Resources Control Board. LADWP and LA Sanitation also put in $800,000 and $200,000 each, respectively.
“Flooding on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Pacoima, near Pacoima Middle School, has long been a fact of life for residents who live in the neighborhood,” Fuentes said during a groundbreaking event at one of the homes today. “Now a model environmental project in the San Fernando Valley not only will it help prevent flooding, but address safety concerns for pedestrians who walk along this portion of Laurel Canyon Boulevard.”
Marty Adams, water manager at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the project “a critical component to help meet Mayor Eric Garcetti’s mandate to reduce LA’s imported water in half by 2024 which is a priority for LADWP.”
— City News Service