JOSEPHINE AXT EXPLAINS WHERE WE ARE IN THE CORPS PLANNING PROCESS

“Our Study is Ecosystem Restoration”

Josephine Axt: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ ARBOR [Alternatives with Restoration Benefits and Opportunities for Revitalization] Study, which covers the nine mile stretch from just upstream from the Verdugo Wash at the border with Glendale to 1st Street in downtown L.A., is looking at ecosystem restoration. This is our primary mission area.

Right now Tetra-Tech is writing up our planning charette, held in late winter 2010, and putting together a working list of all the alternatives and different ideas we considered. We will be looking at regional economic development and other social effects. We’ll have some preliminary alternatives that will be refined, some conceptual designs that we’ll analyze for the costs and benefits, then we will come up with a final array of alternatives – five or so – and bring in the Corps’ Division and Headquarters to get their take on our analysis, and then determine which plan we propose. (more…)

IRA MARK ARTZ ANALYZES PIGGYBACK YARD HYDROLOGY

Providing Channel Capacity for River Revitalization

The Piggyback Yard is one of the most valuable land areas in the entire City for river restoration because of its immense water storage potential compared to other single-owner parcels of land.

This is where the Piggyback Yard Project provides its most significant contribution to the hydrology of the River: By storing peak flow, the volume of water in the channel is reduced. This in turn allows additional space in the channel for habitat plantings and related revitalization features, both adjacent to the Piggyback Yard and downstream. (more…)