Arroyo Seco Canyon Project Environmental Impact Report to Come Before Council

As talks continue regarding a proposal that could resolve local conservationists concerns about two conditional use permits approved for work on the Arroyo Seco, critics of the permits are scheduled to meet virtually this week.

“Save the Trout – Heal the Basin” is scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Next week during its meeting Monday, the City Council is scheduled to discuss the Arroyo Seco Canyon Project’s environmental impact report (EIR).

The conditional use permits are required to repair and replace facilities within the Arroyo Seco Canyon area that were damaged or destroyed by Station Fire-related events of 2009.

Damage to these structures, according to city officials, has greatly reduced the city’s capacity to divert water from the Arroyo Seco. The proposed improvements would allow for increased utilization of the city’s pre-1914 surface water rights from the Arroyo Seco.

The preservationists claim trout continue to inhabit the streams there and the work being proposed could destroy the fish.

“There’s definitely trout in Arroyo Seco, but does Pasadena care? We’ll find out when the council decides on July 12th,” the group posted on its website.

The presence of native fish in the Arroyo Seco has been a major source of contention during the environmental review process. The Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF) and other commenters during the EIR review claimed native fish have been present in the Arroyo Seco for two million years or more.

According to the ASF, the Pasadena Water and Power Department (PWP) has asserted that there are no fish in the Arroyo. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife translocated nearly 500 trout from the nearby West Fork of the San Gabriel River last fall as part of a fish rescue program following the Bobcat Fire.

In a settlement proposal, the ASF called for design and operations that would provide for fish passage and ensure an environmental flow for fish and aquatic species in the Arroyo Seco stream.

The agreement would also commit PWP to work cooperatively with ASF and the other appellants to evaluate the stream hydrology of the Hahamongna Watershed Park basin and the development of a plan to stabilize and replenish the Raymond Groundwater Basin.

The City Council was scheduled to discuss the issue early last month, but the item was postponed. At that time, ASF Executive Director Tim Brick said he was pleased the two sides were talking. On Monday, Brick told Pasadena Now that they were still “discussing language.”

The city Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruling upheld a hearing officer’s decision to allow the repair and replacement of the city’s water infrastructure facilities.

The city wants to increase the amount of water it diverts from the Arroyo Seco to the Raymond Basin by 15%, from 35% to 50% due to impacts by recent droughts. The droughts, combined with several other factors, including climate change, contributed to decreasing groundwater levels in the Raymond Basin.

To maintain and increase groundwater levels, the Raymond Basin Management Board (RBMB) initiated a voluntary 30% reduction of groundwater production rights for all pumpers in the Pasadena subarea in 2009.