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      Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation

Volume I, Issue IV

Members of the San Gabriel River Watershed Council meet with local residents to discuss the Elmer Avenue project.

Elmer Avenue: A Model Stormwater
Green Street

There is perhaps no better example of community partnerships than the Elmer Avenue Neighborhood Retrofit Project.

The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, along with Tree People, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, active local citizens, the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation Stormwater Program, Bureau of Street Services, and numerous additional partners have combined forces to implement a mixture of strategies to reduce flooding and water pollution in one Los Angeles neighborhood, as part of the broader L.A. Basin Water Augmentation Study.

“The Elmer Avenue project exemplifies the value of partnerships by bringing agencies and residents together to illustrate how low-impact development principles can be applied to existing infrastructure from the street level to the house level,” said Edward Belden, Water Programs Manager of the Watershed Council.
The Elmer Avenue project will ultimately capture 16 acre-feet of stormwater and dry-weather runoff annually to reduce flooding, increase green space for bird and butterfly habitat, and improve groundwater supplies, as well as increase community awareness of watershed issues. Research will be conducted on the program’s effects on water quality in the area, and it will serve as an example of low-impact community revitalization.

The Elmer Avenue project will show that innovative techniques in building and neighborhood design can capture rain and runoff, thereby protecting nearby beaches from pollution carried by stormwater while, at the same time, increasing local groundwater supplies. Unlike any before it, the project is dependent upon direct participation from local residents who want to take the initiative and do their part to improve local water quality.
Water accumulates on Elmer Avenue after a rain shower, a problem that will soon be fixed.
The Water Augmentation Study, of which the Elmer Avenue project is part of, is a long-term research initiative led by the non-profit Watershed Council. The study explores the potential for increasing local water supplies and reducing water pollution by increasing infiltration of stormwater runoff.

“The results from the Water Augmentation Study and the lessons learned from this project demonstrates how agency and community partners can come together to improve water quality, increase local water supplies, create native habitat, and revitalize neighborhoods while using stormwater as an asset,” said Nancy Steele, the Watershed Council’s Executive Director.

Flooding on Elmer Avenue, as shown above, will be contained and managed through various projects.
The first phase of the study was completed in 2002 and investigated groundwater quality ramifications of infiltrating stormwater by monitoring water quality at two separate locations within Los Angeles. Phase 2 of the study expanded the first phase by monitoring an additional four sites and was completed in 2007. Phase 3 of the L.A. Basin Augmentation Study is currently taking a closer look at the viability of region-wide water infiltration. This phase incorporates demonstration projects on a neighborhoodwide scale, such as the Elmer Avenue project, where existing infrastructure such as sidewalks and stormdrains are designed or retrofitted to locally manage stormwater and flooding issues using a variety of sustainable methods. This project is funded through various organizations and grants including major support from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and a Proposition 50 grant from the Department of Water Resources.

“I am really looking forward to this project. It will provide much needed sidewalks and rain gardens to Elmer Avenue,” says Diane, an Elmer Street resident. “For decades we have had chronic flooding problems. It will be great to have these in place in time for the upcoming rainy season!”

For more information: http://www.lasgrwc.org/WAS.htm
OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE: Manager's Message | Sun Valley Flooding | Downspout Disconnection Program | Dog Waste Stinks

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