801 Holmby Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca 90024
310-270-4151 fax: 310-270-4152

Statement of purpose

The Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council grew out of concerns voiced by a variety of people among whom there was insufficient communication and among the governmental agencies with responsibilities in the watershed, citizen groups and consultants who work in the watershed. This disparate group decided to bring people together to decide on a course of action to improve communications and make comprehensive watershed management planning work. The conference that resulted, "Making Watersheds Work" looked at four watersheds in the greater Los Angeles area, only one of which had no organized attempt at watershed planning ongoing--the Los Angeles/San Gabriel Rivers watershed. The costs of the conference were more than covered by a few of the conveners: Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, EPA Region IX, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Montgomery Watson Engineers, CH2M Hill and Heal the Bay.

The conveners then dedicated the money left over from "Making Watersheds Work" to form a broadly representative stakeholders group in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed. The money was managed by Heal the Bay to build a mailing list of some 425 stakeholders, and to mail minutes and meeting notices to that list. Those in attendance decided to form a nonprofit tax exempt corporation as its governing body, and to build a board that is inclusive, representing the wide variety of stakeholders, all of whose concerns must be addressed in an open, respectful and cooperative way. Wherever possible, decisions will be reached by consensus.

Also adopted was the following condensed mission statement to put on the letterhead:

To facilitate the preservation, restoration, and enhancement of the Los Angeles River and San Gabriel River watersheds.

And this official statement of purpose for our Articles of Incorporation and the IRS:

To facilitate a comprehensive, multi-purpose, stakeholder-driven consensus process to preserve, restore, and enhance the many beneficial uses, economic, social, environmental and biological, of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers watersheds ecosystem through education, research, planning and mediation.

Programs & Activities

The first year's work plan was adopted at the May 1996 Stakeholder's meeting: Each item adopted is followed by a description of our activities in support of that item.

1. To begin to educate stakeholders and the public as we develop our mission.
We co-sponsored a conference called "Visions for the River" with other environmental and government groups, May 4. Our monthly meetings regularly feature workshops on various aspects of the watershed that we need to learn about. We have examined how our water resources are used in the watershed, the newly-adopted NPDES water quality permit for nonpoint discharges, and how sediment can best be managed in the watershed. We also toured the San Gabriel River watershed, and are now planning a tour of part of the Los Angeles River watershed hosted by the U. S. Forest Service and Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. We plan to publish what we learn in a series of monographs for broad distribution.

2. To identify opportunities to form partnerships to carry out our mission.
Every person, group or agency with an interest in the watershed is invited to attend our monthly meetings. The original mailing list of 425 continues to grow. The board is composed of representatives from agencies, cities, community groups, business, and others. Those agencies unable to serve on the board appoint official liaisons. We started as a partnership, and intend to build on that fine beginning. A work project just begun is to develop a matrix of all the activities within the watershed and publish it so that others will know who is doing similar work, and how to team up for funding or to make limited funding more effective through cooperation. SCAG, the Southern California Association of Governments, has assisted us with the legal work of incorporating and filing for tax-exempt status.

3. To identify institutional barriers to implementing our mission.
The biggest problems in the watershed stem from lack of communication between and among agencies. We have already identified one major problem--the need of the U. S. Forest Service to do prescribed burns over 20,000 acres a year in the Angeles National Forest, and the Air Quality Management District¼s refusal to issue the needed burn permits. There is no existing forum for mediating this and similar problems. We held a workshop, invited the two agencies and the Coalition for Clean Air to discuss the problem, and a resolution is now in process--amending the State Air Quality Implementation Plan. The AQMD representative has since attended our meetings.

Another institutional barrier was identified during our watershed tour. Managing the sediments that accumulate behind dams now seems to be the purview of County Public Works only. Others agencies need to be involved in the management decisions. This issue is the subject of current workshops.

4. To prioritize our research needs.
Building a bibliography of existing knowledge and programs in the watershed is of course first. This is underway. Next most important is learning about what GIS mapping has been done by whom, both by government and academia, and seeing how all of this data can be put together in one place. Then we will be in a better position to determine what more needs to be learned and how best to proceed. The opportunity to work with Cal State LA in its Urban Environment Initiative is timely indeed.

5. To pursue funding sources, grants and subscribers to a newsletter yet to be planned or financed, to implement our work plan.
We have begun this process by encouraging agencies and individuals to make substantial contributions as a way of supporting our work and as a way of keeping informed about activities in the watershed. We are also applying for government, corporate and foundation grants.

6. To provide a forum for problem solving, mediation.
The first example is the one described under institutional barriers above. There does not now exist a forum or place where conflicts between agencies can be addressed and resolved. If we are able only to provide this service, the organization will have served a useful purpose.

Public Education:

Monthly stakeholder meetings open to everyone interested
Annual State of the Rivers Conference
Active outreach program to elected officials and the community

Update annotated bibliography
Update matrix of current activities on rivers
Other research TBA
Newsletter of activities of agencies and groups
Tours of the watershed

Ä To fully evaluate alternative (soft) flood control regimes and multi-purpose use of existing flood control channels for water conservation recreation, wildlife habitat, water quality, ground water recharge
Ä To reduce the volume and velocity of storm water.
Ä To use local water resources as efficiently as possible by maximizing conservation, reclamation and reuse, and conjunctive use.
Ä To combine land use planning with water supply/quality/flood control issues.
Ä To identify and restore riparian and wetland habitats for wildlife and people.
Ä To substantially add to the amount of park and open space in the watershed.
Ä This will also increase the value of adjoining property and perhaps stimulate redevelopment of some of the most worn out parts of the city.
Ä To increase the tree canopy in the city to retain water, cool the heat island effect, decrease the amount of air conditioning needed, improve air quality and the quality of life.
Ä To develop a process to address cumulative impacts.
Ä To improve both air and water quality as well as the quality of life for its residents.