Devil’s Gate Restoration Project to go Before Public Safety

Local residents told Supervisor Kathryn Barger that there is still a problem with trucks idling as they wait to enter the Hahamongna to remove sediment as part of the local Devil’s Gate Restoration Project.

Dust pollution is also an ongoing problem.

“The good news is that I drive by this area constantly and take pictures and send it to public works,” Barger told the City Council. “I am closely monitoring this. The bad news is when I see a truck without a tarp or idling I will be the first one to bring it to the attention of public works.

The item will move to the Public Safety Committee.

Barger said she would get Mayor Victor Gordo an update on the issues by early next week.

The project, also known as “The Big Dig,” is a four-year effort to increase flood protection for communities downstream of Devil’s Gate Dam and restore habitat within a popular section of the Arroyo Seco Watershed.

The county Public Works Department plans to remove 1.7 million cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir immediately behind the 100-year old dam.

In addition to providing flood relief to communities that have endured more than a decade of elevated flood risk along the Arroyo Seco, the project will establish a permanent stormwater maintenance area that allows for the creation of 70 acres of enhanced habitat and recreational opportunities.

According to Barger, the project is ahead of schedule and native plants are already being replanted.

LA County Public Works had reached a compromise to mitigate the pollution and the idling trucks, but local residents said the problems continue.

“Many diesel trucks arrived at the project at the first hour of each project day resulting in a number of diesel trucks that were delayed and were idling for long periods of time,” according to resident Nina Chomsky.

According to Chomsky, some of the trucks were idling for 25-30 minutes, instead of the expected four minutes laid out in the Environmental Impact Report.

“Idling must be reduced, or better eliminated, for the remainder of the project,” Chomsky wrote to the City Council.

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

A large amount of sediment had not been removed from Devil’s Gate since 1994 when workers hauled out 160,000 cubic yards. The Station Fire in 2009 then dumped a million cubic yards of soil and debris into the basin.

The Board of Supervisors voted on July 7 to approve a settlement between L.A. County, the Arroyo Seco Foundation (ASF) and the Pasadena Audubon Society (PAS) that reduced the negative impacts of the project on endangered bird species within the area.

Barger last updated the council on the project in 2018.