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$13M project to improve water quality in LA River, Arroyo Seco breaks ground
Los Angeles Sep 23, 2021
Portion of the LA River in East LA. | Photo by Levi Clancy via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Crews will break ground Thursday on a $13 million project aimed at improving water quality in the Los Angeles River and Arroyo Seco.
The Low Flow Diversion project was designed by the firm Santec in collaboration with the Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Engineering and LA Sanitation & Environment. Crews will construct new infrastructure to divert dry-weather flows from the storm drains and into existing sanitary sewers and the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant.
“The city of Los Angeles wants to use Arroyo Seco and the L.A. River for more recreational purposes,” said Venu Kolli, Stantec senior principal and project manager.
“It’s critical that the water quality is improved. Diverting this low-flow water is an excellent way to enhance the waterways and give the city additional resources through water reclamation. We are excited to see the community-enhancement project start construction.”
The diversion project will not only improve the water quality, but it will also increase the amount of water being treated and in turn improve water security in the Los Angeles region. Santec expects the project will divert more than 1 million gallons of water each day from storm drains. The Clarke Contracting Corp. is leading construction for the L.A. River Low Flow Diversion project and Mike Pirch and Sons is leading construction for the Arroyo Seco Low Flow Diversion project. Construction is expected to be complete by November 2022.
