City Will Issue Opinion on Devil’s Gate Reservoir Sediment Removal Project

Keith Lily of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District made a special presentation about the Devil’s Gate Reservoir Sediment Removal and Management Project for the Municipal Services Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, allowing for a discussion about how the city would give an official comment by December 16.

The city will try to synthesize resident comments about the project and develop a cohesive position from the city, according to the staff representative. However, Councilmember Terry Tornek questioned about how to proceed if there are contradictory comments from the public.

“I am confident we can work out conflicts that might exist. The questions might occur how to present that potential conflict to the council… But we’ll start with the perception that we can get to a statement without much conflict,” City Manager Michael Beck said.

The proposed project would remove four million cubic yards of sediment in 120 acres of the Hahamonga Watershed Park. However, the Draft Environmental Impact Report that is currently in a 75-day public comment period has proposed several alternatives including one deemed the “environmentally superior” alternative which would remove 2.6 million cubic yards of sediment from the area and revegetate a large portion.

The Flood Control District says the sediment must be removed in order to prevent flooding in the future. After the 2009 fire, the depleted forest left most of its sediment deposits in the Devil’s Gate Dam and the riverbed beyond.

Last week at the first public comment presentation meeting, several concerned residents voiced issue with the project, particularly the 200,000 trucks that will come by the minute over a period of three to five years, six days a week for six months of the year beginning in 2015.

“There’s a lot of skepticism about the magnitude of what you’re designing for. You’ve established a criteria of two DDE’s (a debris event associated with a 50-year rainfall frequency), which is going to be the subject of a lot of debate. Your job is to make sure things don’t get flooded, so if we got to the place there was a flood and you’ve exceeded one DDE, what would happen?” Tornek asked.

When the new project is complete, the dam will have enough capacity to withstand two 50-year storms. The last storm of that magnitude happened in 1938.

If a flood ever breached the Devil’s Gate dam, the implications could include the 210 Freeway closure, flooding of the golf course at the Rose Bowl, and potential flooding of homes in the path.

Councilmember Margaret McAustin and chair of the Municipal Services Committee asked that the project update be brought as an informational item before the whole council before the December 16 City Council meeting.

At the December 16 City Council meeting, staff will recommend an official position to the Council about the Devil’s Gate Reservoir Sediment Removal and Management Project to be included in the comments portion of the Environmental Impact Report.

To find out more about the sediment removal project or to make a comment, attend one of the upcoming meetings.

Thursday, November 14, 2013 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Jackson Elementary School Auditorium 593 West Woodbury Road Altadena (Park in rear lot or on Spaulding)

Saturday, November 16, 2013 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge 4469 Chevy Chase Drive La Cañada Flintridge (Park in Center/Pre‐School Lot)

For more information visit www.lasedimentmangaement.com/devilsgate or send an email to reeservoircleanouts@dpw.lacounty.gov.