Most people who walk, bike or drive past the Arroyo Seco rarely think about where the water beneath it travels, or what happens to the runoff that races down its concrete channel after a storm. A free guided tour on Sunday, June 14 invites residents to take a closer look. Active San Gabriel Valley will lead the San Pascual and San Rafael Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project sites tour from 9 to 11 a.m., a roughly one-mile walk built around the question of how the region uses, loses and might one day recapture its water.
Participants will get an on-the-ground look at existing water infrastructure and at proposals from the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena to capture and treat stormwater runoff before it reaches the Arroyo Seco Channel and flows out of the watershed. Organizers say the walk will also point to concrete ways residents can get involved in shaping those plans.
The tour comes at a moment when Southern California communities are rethinking how they manage a resource that swings between scarcity and sudden abundance. Projects that hold and clean local runoff, rather than sending it to the ocean, have drawn growing interest as a way to stretch supplies and ease pressure on imported water.
Active San Gabriel Valley is a nonprofit that advocates for safe, sustainable and connected communities across the San Gabriel Valley, with a focus on walking, biking and public space. The walk is open to the public, and organizers ask attendees to register in advance.
The San Pascual and San Rafael Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project sites tour will run on Sunday, June 14 from 9 to 11 a.m. Participants meet at Arroyo Park, 614 Stoney Drive, South Pasadena. The walk covers about one mile. Admission is free. Registration is not required but suggested. Text SFWALKS” to 833‑243‑6033.
