Arroyo Seco Foundation Receives $3.3 Million for Hahamongna Improvements
The Pasadena City Council has signed off on a series of agreements between Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) and the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF). The move grants the non-profit $3,271,000 for various water quality, environmental and recreation improvements in Hahamongna Watershed Park, a spot in Arroyo Seco where mountain meets urban plain. Bounded by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the north and the Devil's Gate Park in the south, the area is home to an unusual sagebrush habitat, uncommon especially near urbanized areas. Runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains north of the area also feeds Pasadena's groundwater basin supply.
Learn more about the Hahamong'nas
Among the planned improvements is upgrading the Arroyo Seco water intake structure to capture the city's full water rights. Due to limitations in existing facilities, the city only realizes about 72 percent of its water rights. The upgrade promises to be more eco-friendly, allowing fish and other migratory species to pass in the stream rather than being blocked by the facility.
The grant also covers installing a restroom, interpretative signage, picnic tables, a water fountain and horse trough; and restoring riparian habitat in the Arroyo Seco stream by removing unused facilities, planting native plants, improving fish conditions, and removing invasive species; and an assessment of installing a inflatable dam.
The award is administered by the LACFCD and is funded by California Department of Water Resources as part of Proposition 84, the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality, and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act, approved by California voters in 2006. The project is slated to be completed by September 2015, though the habitat restoration program will end December 2015.
Here are some of the planned improvements:
Images courtesy of the Arroyo Seco Foundation