This week the Los Angeles City Council approved my motion to provide $850,000 for a stormwater infrastructure project at Ben Avenue and Victory Boulevard, site of intense flooding in the past. The money comes from Proposition O, approved by the voters in 2004 to provide funds to prevent and remove pollutants from waterways and oceans.Construction on the project, which will also receive funding from the Department of Water and Power and the Community Redevelopment Agency, is expected to begin in March of next year.
The project will alleviate flooding that has not only affected the immediate intersection but surrounding neighborhoods as well. It will also enable the DWP to recapture as much as 90 percent of runoff even during a major storm.
Drywells will be used to treat and infiltrate excess runoff within the project areas. Pretreatment swales are proposed upstream of the drywell systems to remove sentiment, nutrients, and other pollutants.
The project will help achieve my goal of reducing LA's dependence on imported water and recharging the vitally important San Fernando Valley aquifer.