County Supervisor Barger, Pasadena City Council Discuss County, City Partnerships

In a special joint meeting with Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Monday, the LA County Public Works Department said that sediment removal in the Hahamongna Watershed Park had already been put to the test.

In December, the area was battered with rain from a local storm and the run offs which had previously been clogged leading to flood worries performed properly.

“We were able to hold back all that water,” said Keith Hala, project manager with LA County Public Works.

County workers removed enough sediment to fill the Rose Bowl three times.

The project provided flood prevention to communities that have endured nearly a decade of elevated flood risk along the Arroyo Seco, and established a permanent stormwater maintenance area that allows for the creation of 70 acres of enhanced habitat and recreational opportunities for local communities.

Devil’s Gate is the oldest dam constructed by the L.A. County Flood Control District, providing flood protection for the cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena and Los Angeles.

A large amount of sediment had not been removed from the Devil’s Gate reservoir since 1994 when workers hauled out 160,000 cubic yards of soil and debris. An additional 1 million cubic yards of soil and debris were dumped into the basin by the Station Fire in 2009, which burned more than 160,000 acres in Altadena, Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, and Acton. The sediment hampered the dam’s ability to hold back floodwater.

The county is still doing work on the southeast entrance of Devil’s Gate. Public coordination meetings are scheduled to resume later this month.

During the work, local residents complained about noise and air pollution caused by hundreds of truck trips a day into the area. At last year’s joint meeting Barger provided an update on the project. Later, the supervisors approved a plan to provide air quality monitoring for the project.

“This is an important project,” said Mayor Victor Gordo. “We understand the complexity of it. It started out a little slow as far as addressing concerns people have. With the supervisors’s help things have improved.”

The City Council also received a presentation on partnerships for providing housing services and an update on the implementation of Measure J alternative to incarceration charter amendment.

The five-member Board of Supervisors, created by the Legislature in 1852, is the governing body of the county of Los Angeles. Barger represents the board’s Fifth District, which includes 22 cities and 87 unincorporated communities, including Altadena and Pasadena, as well as other parts of the San Gabriel Valley, and the San Fernando Valleys. Covering 2,800 square miles, the Fifth District is larger than all the other supervisor districts combined.

“Our joint city-county meetings are essential and invaluable. Solutions to issues such as homelessness, encampment clearings and housing are complex,” Barger told Pasadena Now earlier this week. “They require policy and resource coordination so that elected leaders can deliver the best outcomes for our mutual constituents.  Let’s also not forget that we live in an era of finite resources. Collaboration is key so that we, as policy leaders, can achieve the most with what’s available. I’m committed to partnering with the cities I represent to craft local solutions for local problems.”