Everyone agreed last Wednesday about the quest to protect Santa Monica Bay from polluted stormwater, but residents challenged the City’s preparations for the proposed $15.9- million Temescal Stormwater Diversion Project. Appearing at a public meeting in the Palisades Branch Library community room, Heal the Bay President Mark Gold and Palisadian Fran Diamond, chairperson of the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board strongly supported the project, arguing that it was an important use of Proposition O funds. Built by the City of Los Angeles, the new underground system along Temescal Canyon Road, just north of Pacific Coast Highway, would trap rainstorm runoff from October through April and would consist of three separate structures. During a storm, water would first drain into a diversion tank, and then into a hydro-separator (which separates pollutants such as trash and debris from the rainwater). The water would then flow into a 1.25-million-gallon, cement-reinforced holding tank at the bottom of Temescal Canyon Park, where it could stay for up to three days before traveling to the Hyperion Treatment Center in El Segundo. Questions by residents in the audience focused on the adequacy of studies conducted by the City, the choice of location, leaking sewer pipes, the effectiveness of the system and who would pay for maintenance. ‘ Environmental, geotechnical and traffic reports. Residents questioned why an environmental impact report (EIR) hadn’t been done. According to Public Works information officer Michelle Vargas, this project qualifies for a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) categorical exemption, thus avoiding an EIR. Residents then questioned the completeness of the geotechnical report done in 2008, which stated: ‘Our evaluation did not include a detailed evaluation of the landslide susceptibility or stability of the slopes adjacent to the project.’ ‘We want you to do the work that you require us to do when we build our homes,’ said Bernard Kinsey, who lives on the slopes above Temescal Canyon. ‘We’re not trying to stop you, but you haven’t done your work.’ Residents wanted to access the (Continued on Page 3) traffic plan, which has not been available to the public. They are concerned that the heavy traffic when Palisades Charter High School dismisses was not adequately investigated, nor was the loss of parking along Temescal Canyon Road. ‘We’ll come back next month with the traffic plans,’ promised Kendrick Okuda, Proposition O program manager for the Bureau of Engineering. ‘ Choice of Temescal Canyon. Since a large portion of the watershed that drains into the diversion tank is uninhabited land, resident Todd Thompson said: ‘I feel like you’re spending money in Temescal not because the need is the greatest here, but only because you have property there.’ He estimated that about 60 percent of the 1,600 acre watershed was uninhabited. Gold corrected him, ’80 percent of the watershed is uninhabited, but under the Clean Water Act, the law says every single beach needs to be clean.’ Bureau of Sanitation’s Watershed Protection Division Manager Shahram Kharaghani acknowledged, ‘We selected the park because it is city government land and we did not have to acquire other land.’ ‘ Leaking Sewer Pipes. Current plans are to drain the 1.25-million gallon tank into a newly-constructed pipe that will connect to an existing 3,000-ft. force main that runs into the Coastal Interceptor Sewer below PCH. Leaks have been found in the existing force main, which drains sewage from Via de las Olas. Residents want assurance that those leaks will be fixed before the project starts. Michelle Vargas, a spokesperson for Public Works, said that a closed-circuit television camera is inside the pipe and will soon determine the total damage. Okuda said $600,000 has been set aside to pay for a new lining in the existing force main and the new pipe to the force main. As reported in the Palisadian-Post (‘Aging Sewer, Slow Response Meant Beach Hazard,’ January 31, 2007), Kharaghani attributed much of the beach pollution to the city’s aging sewer lines. A resident wanted to know how the city knew that polluted water at Will Rogers Beach is coming from stormwater runoff and not broken sewer pipes. Gold told the group that source tracking can be done to find the origin of the pollution, which would allow the City to know if the pollution was from broken sewer pipes. He acknowledged that it had not been done in Temescal. ‘ Effectiveness of the system. Another resident said it was his understanding that the system didn’t work with all storms. Vargas said that the diversion system will activate anytime there is a storm of at least 2.65 cubic feet of rain per second (a little less than .2 inches over a 24-hour period). According to Okuda, the device will capture the first runoff, which is considered the most polluted. Everything in excess of 1.25-million gallons will divert back into the existing storm drain and run into the ocean. Another resident questioned whether this project was indeed the best use for the money or whether it could be better spent replacing aging sewer lines across Pacific Palisades, as well as leaking septic tanks in Rivas, upper Rustic Canyon and Mandeville Canyon. ‘ The cost of maintenance and who would pay for it. Resident Chris Spitz wanted assurance that before construction begins, adequate funding will be in place to clean and maintain the proposed hydro-separator. In an e-mail to the Post, Spitz wrote: ‘We have learned from credible residents that the hydro-separator at the Sun Valley stormwater diversion project is rarely if ever maintained or cleaned, leading to the malfunctioning of that facility.’ The $500 million in Proposition O money is not targeted towards maintenance and there have been no provisions yet for the Temescal project. Given the numerous unanswered questions, City officials promised to hold a second informational meeting in March. Residents were also assured that the proposed October start of the project could be delayed. (A tour of a stormwater diversion project in Sun Valley is scheduled for tomorrow, in order for residents to view the operations. To attend, call Vikki Zale at (310) 822-2010.)
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