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Title: Social and Hydrological Impacts of the Los Angeles
River: Historic Channelization and Modern Restoration Author: Gabrielle Esser Abstract: Because of unpredictable
winter flow rates of the Los Angeles River, a concrete channel was completed
by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the L.A. Public Works Administration in
1955 to control flooding and property damage due to dangerously high discharge
rates within the river’s floodplain.
As populations continue to expand in the metropolitan basin, issues of
flood control have become critical in urban planning. Hydrological and probability analysis of
discharge means and annual discharge peaks from the USGS and LADWP, taken
near the river’s mouth, reveals that channelization has resulted in increased
discharge rates, creating a variety of confounding water quality and habitat
issues in the L.A. basin. The Los Angeles County Drainage Area Project of
1995 was drafted to mitigate pollution as well as restore more stable flow
rates and native habitats in the river; this plan has experienced only
moderate success. Analysis of current
discharge rates and sociopolitical discourse on flood control and restoration
management within the L.A. basin indicates some ecological improvements in
river conditions, but more restoration fueled by community discourse is
needed to stabilize flow rates. Key References: Gumprecht, Blake. (1999). The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death,
and Possible Rebirth. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. Gumprecht, Blake. (2005). Who Killed the
Los Angeles River? In Devrell, William; Hise, Greg. (Eds.).
(2005). Land
of Sunshine: An Environmental History of Metropolitan Los Angeles. (pp. 115-134). Pittsburg, PA:
University of Pittsburg Press. Orsi, Jared. (2005). Flood Control
Engineering in the Urban Ecosystem. In Devrell,
William; Hise, Greg. (Eds.). (2005). Land
of Sunshine: An Environmental History of Metropolitan Los Angeles. (pp. 135-151). Pittsburg, PA:
University of Pittsburg Press. DiGiacomo, P. M., Washburn, L., Holt,
B., & Jones, B. H. (2004). Coastal pollution hazards in southern
California observed by SAR imagery: Stormwater plumes, wastewater plumes, and
natural hydrocarbon seeps. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 49(11-12),
1013-1024. Data
Sources: LADWP
Monthly Discharge means 1990-2008 USGS
Annual Discharge Means 1930-1992 USGS
Surface Water: Peak Stream Flow Annual Data 1929-1992 http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/peak?site_no=11103000&agency_cd=USGS&format=html USGS
Water Quality Data 1979-1992 Return to Water
Resources Projects page. |
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Date:
May 2010
Student: gesser@willamette.edu
ENVR 327: Water Resources
Instructor: Dr. Karen Arabas
http://www.willamette.edu/~karabas/courses/envr327w