DockRat
07-03-2013, 06:31 AM
Checkout the pics and video. The video shows Wilmington drain near PCH.
DR
Long-planned water clean-up projects to begin at Harbor Regional Park
By Donna Littlejohn
Posted: 06/25/2013 07:38:18 PM PDT
Along the Wilmington Drain at Lomita Blvd, crews are removing invasive trees and plants to improve water flow as it moves toward Machado Lake. Photo by Brad Graverson 6-21-13 (null)
Photos: Harbor Regional Park cleanup project
Nearly a decade after voters approved the funding, an ambitious -- but long delayed -- water cleanup project at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park and the Wilmington Drain is finally set to launch.
Work has begun on the smaller and lower-profile phase of the project -- developing trails, signage and a passive recreational area in the soft-bottom drain near Lomita Boulevard and McCoy Avenue, and installing elements such as trash nets to catch debris in the runoff channel before it dumps into Machado Lake.
Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles next month is expected to issue a new request for bids for the Harbor Regional Park/Machado Lake phase, with work tentatively set to begin in early 2014 and take about three years.
Initially, both phases of the project were slated to be finished by now.
But Los Angeles city officials said work was delayed due to the discovery of an endangered songbird -- the Least Bell's Vireo -- at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park on Vermont Avenue in Harbor City.
"This resulted in the requirement for additional studies and environmental permitting," said Julie Allen, project manager with the city Bureau
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of Engineering. "Additional measures have been included in the project to ensure protection of this species."
Funding comes from the Proposition O Clean Water Bond approved by California voters in 2004. Unrelated to the Proposition O work, workers this week plan to start trimming back vegetation at Machado Lake following the discovery of West Nile-infected mosquitoes in the area.
The timing isn't ideal, said Martin Byhower, an ecology teacher who has led nature walks through Harbor Regional Park for years.
"The city was negligent in doing the routine tulies cutting for a long time," he said of the aquatic plants, noting the trimming typically is done from October to mid-March when birds aren't breeding. He expressed concerns that the work planned this summer to combat mosquito problems could pose conflicts for the Clark's marsh wren, a rare nesting bird in the area.
The $800,000 needed for the mosquito vegetation trimming will come out of the Proposition O fund, but city officials said the work to remove overgrown aquatic weeds was part of the bond-funded project anyway, only in a later phase.
The water plants are growing fast at Machado Lake in Wilmington. There are now only a few spots were the public can access the water. The plans call for Machado Lake to be dredged in phases.
Initial plans for the $117 million project also call for circulatory equipment, floating islands for native habitat, benches and other amenities at the 231-acre Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park.
The goals are to improve the water quality and wildlife habitat and enhance recreation and flood control.
Once known as "the slough," the area was owned by the Dominguez family in the 1700s. The property later went to the Sepulveda family and was annexed in 1906 by the city of Los Angeles.
While the park and lake look oasis-like from a distance, the area has long been a magnet for problems.
The lake, which holds storm-water runoff, is polluted with pesticides, trash and non-native species. The park has dense vegetation that effectively hides many areas from view, attracting homeless encampments and lewd activity through the years.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_23538106/long-planned-water-clean-up-projects-begin-at?IADID=Search-www.dailybreeze.com-www.dailybreeze.com
DR
Long-planned water clean-up projects to begin at Harbor Regional Park
By Donna Littlejohn
Posted: 06/25/2013 07:38:18 PM PDT
Along the Wilmington Drain at Lomita Blvd, crews are removing invasive trees and plants to improve water flow as it moves toward Machado Lake. Photo by Brad Graverson 6-21-13 (null)
Photos: Harbor Regional Park cleanup project
Nearly a decade after voters approved the funding, an ambitious -- but long delayed -- water cleanup project at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park and the Wilmington Drain is finally set to launch.
Work has begun on the smaller and lower-profile phase of the project -- developing trails, signage and a passive recreational area in the soft-bottom drain near Lomita Boulevard and McCoy Avenue, and installing elements such as trash nets to catch debris in the runoff channel before it dumps into Machado Lake.
Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles next month is expected to issue a new request for bids for the Harbor Regional Park/Machado Lake phase, with work tentatively set to begin in early 2014 and take about three years.
Initially, both phases of the project were slated to be finished by now.
But Los Angeles city officials said work was delayed due to the discovery of an endangered songbird -- the Least Bell's Vireo -- at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park on Vermont Avenue in Harbor City.
"This resulted in the requirement for additional studies and environmental permitting," said Julie Allen, project manager with the city Bureau
Advertisement
of Engineering. "Additional measures have been included in the project to ensure protection of this species."
Funding comes from the Proposition O Clean Water Bond approved by California voters in 2004. Unrelated to the Proposition O work, workers this week plan to start trimming back vegetation at Machado Lake following the discovery of West Nile-infected mosquitoes in the area.
The timing isn't ideal, said Martin Byhower, an ecology teacher who has led nature walks through Harbor Regional Park for years.
"The city was negligent in doing the routine tulies cutting for a long time," he said of the aquatic plants, noting the trimming typically is done from October to mid-March when birds aren't breeding. He expressed concerns that the work planned this summer to combat mosquito problems could pose conflicts for the Clark's marsh wren, a rare nesting bird in the area.
The $800,000 needed for the mosquito vegetation trimming will come out of the Proposition O fund, but city officials said the work to remove overgrown aquatic weeds was part of the bond-funded project anyway, only in a later phase.
The water plants are growing fast at Machado Lake in Wilmington. There are now only a few spots were the public can access the water. The plans call for Machado Lake to be dredged in phases.
Initial plans for the $117 million project also call for circulatory equipment, floating islands for native habitat, benches and other amenities at the 231-acre Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park.
The goals are to improve the water quality and wildlife habitat and enhance recreation and flood control.
Once known as "the slough," the area was owned by the Dominguez family in the 1700s. The property later went to the Sepulveda family and was annexed in 1906 by the city of Los Angeles.
While the park and lake look oasis-like from a distance, the area has long been a magnet for problems.
The lake, which holds storm-water runoff, is polluted with pesticides, trash and non-native species. The park has dense vegetation that effectively hides many areas from view, attracting homeless encampments and lewd activity through the years.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_23538106/long-planned-water-clean-up-projects-begin-at?IADID=Search-www.dailybreeze.com-www.dailybreeze.com