LA River Watershed

Coordinate water quality improvements with the Safe, Clean Water Program.

The Safe, Clean Water Program continues LA County’s tradition of protecting water quality within communities and providing new sources of water for current and future generations. Modernizing the 100-year-old water system can better protect public health and the environment, and…

Improve water quality and contribute to the attainment of water quality requirements to protect public and environmental health.

In addition to protecting public and environmental health, improved water quality in the LA River is important for the implementation of projects along the LA River corridor that seek to use water from within the channel. Water diverted from the LA…

Capture and treat stormwater and dry weather flows before they reach the river channel for groundwater recharge, direct use, water recycling, or release for downstream beneficial uses.

The primary sources of water flowing into the LA River are wet weather (stormwater) runoff originating from precipitation on the watershed and dry weather inputs from the watershed, including incidental urban runoff and groundwater upwelling. The dominant source of dry-weather flow…

Include climate change research in the planning process for new projects along the river.

Current infrastructure in and along the LA River was designed based on historic climate data. However, a changing climate is likely to increase the frequency of extreme precipitation events that result in flows that may exceed the channel’s current capacity.…

Reduce peak flood flows into the river.

In addition to increasing capacity of the river, flood risk can also be improved by reducing the amount of water that enters the LA River at peak flows. Upstream storage or detention facilities, such as dams, help to store runoff during…