Sewer Leaks | July 2014 A Publication of the Los Angeles Basin Section of the California Water Environment Association In This Issue: Page 2: The Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake Page 3: The Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake, cont. Page 4: LABS Annual Summer Event – The Beatles’ 50 th at the Bowl Page 5: LABS Dinner-seminar, The Chlorine Revolution: Water Disinfection and the Fight to Save Lives, Thursday July 24 th RSVP: call Justine Harris (805) 610-8525 or John Hough (916) 875-6417 Website: https://sarbscollectionsjuly2014.eventbrite.com Email: [email protected]
Transcript
Sewer Leaks | July 2014
A Publication of the Los Angeles Basin Section of the California Water Environment Association
In This Issue: Page 2: The Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake Page 3: The Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake, cont. Page 4: LABS Annual Summer Event – The Beatles’ 50th at the Bowl Page 5: LABS Dinner-seminar, The Chlorine Revolution: Water Disinfection and the Fight to Save Lives, Thursday July 24th
RSVP: call Justine Harris (805) 610-8525 or John Hough (916) 875-6417
The Rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake by Sophia Luu, Jim Rasmus, and Valerie Ratto
Echo Park Lake had its beginnings as a water supply reservoir, but has since been transformed and rehabilitated to become the beautiful landmark it is today. It is well known as a refuge for lotus flowers and has been used as a filming location for television shows and movies, such as Gilligan’s Island and Chinatown.
Originally called Reservoir No. 4 and built as a water supply reservoir in 1868, the city converted the area surrounding the reservoir to a park in 1892, and eventually converted the lake to an off-line detention basin. Today, while the rehabilitation project has added significant stormwater treatment capabilities to the Lake, the function of the Lake as an off-
line detention basin has been preserved, while providing wildlife habitats and recreational opportunities. Jim Rasmus of Black & Veatch provided a tour of Echo Park Lake, followed by a presentation of the evolution and the selection of the treatment process for the Lake at the May LABS dinner and presentation meeting. As the years passed since its inception, the Lake and surrounding park became victims of neglect. Trash and debris overtook the landscape. The lake was identified in 2006 as being impaired by algae, ammonia, copper, euthrophic conditions, lead, odor, PCBs, pH, and trash. Fortunately in 2004, the City of Los Angeles
passed Proposition O, which sought to protect public health by cleaning up pollution in the city’s watercourses, beaches, and the ocean. It also funded improvements to protect water quality, provide flood protection, and increase water conservation. Proposition O provided funding for the rehabilitation of Echo Park Lake. The rehabilitation objectives were to: improve water quality in the lake; to enhance the Los Angeles River Watershed and meet TMDL requirements; reduce the amount of lake water seeping into the surrounding soils; and protect and enhance the needs of the community.
Sewer Leaks July | 2014 3 Four options were evaluated to meet the water quality objectives. Each would treat dry weather flows to the Lake and varying proportions of the prescribed water quality event. Option 1 would utilize 14.4 acres of constructed wetlands with an incremental cost for the treatment system of $3.75 million. Option 2 would utilize 2.7 acres of constructed wetlands with an incremental cost for the treatment system of $2.49 million. Option 3 would utilize 4.4 acres of constructed wetlands to treat 50 percent of mean daily dry weather flow and water quality events with an incremental cost for the treatment system of $2.45 million. Option 4 would utilize a mechanical treatment system to treat the mean daily dry weather flow and water quality events with an incremental cost for the
treatment system of $8.01 million. Ultimately, Option 3 was chosen because it provided the greatest benefit and most balanced impacts. Since the Park and Lake are such prominent public facilities, the City conducted extensive public outreach throughout the design of the project. In fact, public benefits, impacts and key stakeholder input were all factors in the selection of the treatment alternative. Major improvements included: inlet and outlet structures repurposed to also function as raised overlooks; constructed wetlands designed to achieve treatment goals and accentuate the lake; innovative liner system that uses existing clay soils and naturally-occurring materials to reduce seepage; new system that harvests dry
weather flows from nearby watersheds to offset evaporative losses and conserve water; new pathway that features porous pavement to cleanse runoff from the park into the lake; edging and shoreline designed to reduce erosion; updated vegetation and irrigation system; educational exhibits that engage and enlighten visitors on watershed issues; restoration and relocation of the park's historic “Lady of the Lake” statue to its original location; and a clever solution to resolve challenges presented by dam safety officials at the State. Echo Park Lake stands today an icon of the past that has been reconstructed as an environment that is both beautiful and practical.
The Lady of the Lake
statue was designed
in 1934 by artist Ada
May Sharpless
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