11/19/2021
Endangered streams of Highland Park: The North Branch is Highland Park's main water course. Its waters originate from the precipitation that falls on the hills and valleys of 90042, which still flows under feet under York Boulevard and southward converging just above Sycamore Grove Park, where it once fed a wading pond. Numerous community-based efforts have brought some attention to this neglected stream, and the Army Corps of Engineers even acknowledged the North Branch in their plan for restoration of the Arroyo Seco. Despite that the stream has been considered 'low hanging fruit' for a restoration effort, the City of Los Angeles is currently in the process of diverting its underground waters away from the Arroyo Seco, and into Hyperion Wastewater Treatment plant to be treated like sewage. Our local waters, which could be feeding trees and native habitat and adding to the shady respite provided by Sycamore Grove Park, instead, will become entangled in a maze of "diversions within existing storm drains, below-grade pipelines, trash collection structures, maintenance holes, junction structures, pump stations, pressurized discharge pipes, valve and meter vaults, power supplies for pump stations, and control/monitoring instrumentation." Is this the same City of LA that just rolled out a forward-thinking Biodiversity Index? The City is a many headed-creature. How can we get its various heads to talk to consider big picture solutions ? Local streams are some of our best opportunities for watershed restoration. They need to be considered a key part of how we might address local water supply, water quality, climate change, and urban heat island.
https://www.arroyoseco.org/SycamoreGrovePark.htm
https://lacreekfreak.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/more-on-the-north-branch-of-the-arroyo-seco/
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.114858,-118.2103043,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!6m1!1s1GpzdIoxJLH7sQhvWPN4vabXemrU
A couple weeks ago, Jessica made a thoughtful post about Stream Spirit Rising (part 1, part 2), a series of activities organized around the North Branch of the Arroyo Seco. I wanted to continue tha…
