Environmentalists, Pasadena Water and Power Near Agreement on Arroyo Seco Canyon Project

According to a statement released on Tuesday by the Arroyo Seco Foundation, local preservationists have submitted a proposal to the Pasadena City Council that could resolve their concerns about two conditional use permits that were scheduled to be considered Monday.

The settlement proposal would require that the design and operations of the new Arroyo Seco Canyon Project (ASCP) dam and facilities provide for fish passage and ensure an environmental flow for fish and aquatic species in the Arroyo stream.

It would also commit the Pasadena Water and Power Department (PWP) to work cooperatively with Arroyo Seco Foundation (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.

“We are pleased that Pasadena city officials have agreed to discuss how to protect the fish and aquatic species in the Arroyo and the best ways to manage water in Hahamongna and the Raymond Basin,” ASF Managing Director Tim Brick said in a prepared statement.

“We look forward to working cooperatively with Pasadena to restore fish and improve water management in the Arroyo Seco,” Brick wrote.

In light of the proposed agreement, the Pasadena City Council on Monday set July 12 for a public hearing on the project’s environmental impact report (EIR).

The City Council was scheduled to hold a hearing on a decision by the Board of Zoning Appeals’ to uphold approval of modifications to a CUP regarding properties connected to the project.

The 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

In 2015, PWP requested a CUP to perform repair and replacement of facilities within the Arroyo Seco Canyon Area that were damaged or destroyed by Station Fire-related events of 2009.

The city owns the right to divert water from the Arroyo Seco to the Raymond Basin. Currently, 35% percent of the city’s water comes from the basin, but now the city wants to increase the basin’s allotment to 50%.

According to the city, recent droughts significantly impacted water resources.

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.

Modifications in a CUP would allow the city to repair and replace water infrastructure facilities within the Arroyo Seco, according to a Board Zoning Appeals staff report.

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.

Representatives of ASF and the other appellants will meet with local officials to clarify and resolve the details of the settlement proposal. If they are successful, the finalized agreement will be presented at the Pasadena City Council public hearing in July.

“PWP’s EIR had previously denied the presence of fish in the Arroyo Seco stream and promised to accommodate them only after endangered, anadromous steelhead were restored to the stream, but in their final filings for the City Council hearing PWP acknowledged that there are native trout in the Arroyo Seco stream,” according to the statement released on Tuesday.

“The ASF proposal would require PWP to actually implement the provisions they had promised, including providing for fish passage through its dam and diversion facilities and leaving an environmental flow to sustain the fish and aquatic species during dry periods.”

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 and other commenters during the EIR review claimed native fish have been present in the Arroyo Seco for two million years or more. PWP has asserted that there were 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.