PWP, Preservationists Fail to Reach Agreement on Arroyo Seco Canyon Project

[UPDATED] Negotiations between the city and local preservationists over a project in the Arroyo Seco have broken down.

In a July 9 email, Gurcharan S. Bawa, general manager of the Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) Department, said the utility will not agree to postpone certification of the environmental impact report (EIR) and delay the project.  

“Given our past conversations, PWP does not see a way forward to resolving this matter,” Bawa wrote.

The issue was scheduled to be discussed at Monday’s City Council meeting. Bawa said PWP will ask the council to continue a public hearing until July 19. 

PWP is seeking two conditional use permits (CUP) to repair and replace facilities within the Arroyo Seco Canyon area that were damaged or destroyed by the Station Fire-related events of 2009.

Preservationists say the project threatens trout that are swimming in streams in the area.

“Pasadena has failed to recognize or accommodate the hundreds of Rainbow Trout now present in the Arroyo Seco stream and to alter its proposed facilities and operations to protect them and other aquatic species according to pertinent CA Fish and Game code requirements,” wrote Tim Brick, executive director of the Arroyo Seco Foundation after the negotiations fell apart.

The city says damage to the structures 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 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.

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

The presence of native fish in the Arroyo Seco has been a major point 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.

“Pasadena has refused to conduct studies to determine how much ‘new water’ will be produced by the proposed spreading operations as well as evaluate pumping credits earned from spreading operations based on a policy approved by the Raymond Basin Management Board,” according to the ASF.

According to Bawa, PWP rejected the group’s demands because any agreement with preservationists might conflict with requirements imposed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to complete the project.

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, also requires that an environmental analysis consider the environmental changes created by the proposed project. 

Earlier this year, a city hearing officer discounted claims by local preservationists that he did not properly review an EIR prior to approving a modification to a CUP that would allow the city to repair and replace water infrastructure facilities within the Arroyo Seco, according to a Board Zoning Appeals staff report.

“PWP is committed to improving and enhancing the habitat in the Hahamongna [Watersehd Park] and protecting the groundwater basin, and has contracted with leading technical experts in hydrogeology, biology, fisheries, and engineering to provide for the best designs in stormwater capture, fish protection, and enhancement of the environment in the Hahamongna,” Bawa wrote.