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104740 - Ballona Wetland Restoration, CA |
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Written by Edward Louie
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Wednesday, 07 November 2007 |
Executive Summary:
The Ballona Wetlands in Marina del Rey, some 15 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, is the last major coastal marsh in Los Angeles County. As such, it is one of the most valuable habitats for rare and endangered species now restricted to some of the few remaining wetlands in Southern California. A 1930s-era flood control channel successfully diverted upstream stormwater directly into Santa Monica Bay. While the channel helped protect residents and structures from floods, it also led to severe degradation of the saltmarsh, in turn resulting in a loss of native habitat and invasion of non-native exotic species. To help restore the 192 acres of remaining wetland, The Corps has proposed a project that would replace the current system of gates with a new system that would restore tidal circulation and ebb and flow cyclical “flushing” to a 13.5 acre section of the wetlands. The $1.25 million project would provide greater opportunity to increase the habitat’s biological productivity. The City of Los Angeles is the local sponsor.
Important Information:
3/27-28 - Work will take place on flat fish openings, which will complete all construction work on the project. The only remaining chore will be adjustment of the tide gates. Already completed are the access hatch, ladder, railing and staff gauge. The contractor, Marcon, will padlock the access hatch March 27 and will leave it on until the project is turned over to LA County for operations and maintenance.
- 03/08/03 - Ballona Stewards Community Clean-up and Restoration. Bring your family and friends for a morning (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) of fun, exercise, refreshments and prizes on the beautiful Ballona Wetlands. For directions, please see: www.ballona.org
- 02/27/03 -Installation of both tidegates and trash racks has been completed. Waterman Industries, a contractor, is adjusting the tidegates this week, based on charts for high and low tides. Waterman will visit the site again in a few weeks to make final adjustments on the gates.
- 02/20/03 - MARCON, the Corps contractor, has completed the concrete headwall and stripped forms and finished installation of self-regulating tidegates. Trash racks will also be finished this week. Marcon is on schedule to be completely finished and out by March 5.
- 02/04/03 - District engineers inspected the site Jan. 30. MARCON Construction is moving along very well and has completed the sheet piling work, excavation work and slab foundation. It is now laying pipes and headwall.
Ballona Wetlands currently suffers from the loss of tidal water exchange. Its saltmarsh vegetation has decayed and has been invaded by several aggressive exotic plants. The water quality in the wetland channels is poor, fluctuates widely in salinity and dissolved oxygen and only a few fish species are able to tolerate such extreme conditions in the wetlands. The Corps project would modify three existing tidal gates with three new kinds of tide gates which are designed to restore normal synchronized tidal cycles in lower Ballona Creek—the wetland channels. When completed, for example, the new tide-gate system is expected to allow a near complete exchange of water volume with each tidal cycle. The Corps and other experts expect that the improved movement and level of circulating water—which would restore tidal circulation and flushing--would benefit the saltmarsh ecosystem and especially fisheries and marsh bird habitat. The Corps has concluded that this project would provide the greatest number of benefits while operating within the constraints of the landowner, federal, state, city and local agencies and other interested parties. The proposed project fits exactly into the framework of the Corps Environmental Operating Principles (click here).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How is the Corps project different from the Playa Vista Project at Ballona Wetlands?
A: Our project is being pursued under various federal laws with the support of a local sponsor—the City of Los Angeles. It is separate and distinct from the much larger Playa Vista Project. Our involvement in the larger project is as a regulator that issues (or doesn’t issue) a permit to an applicant, as required by the Clean Water Act. The Playa Vista Project is not a Corps project but one proposed by the Playa Capital Co. Since it involves dredging and/or filling in “waters of the United States” (the federal law’s language), Playa Capital has applied for a permit to our Regulatory Branch. Although we are involved in both projects, they are two entirely separate actions proposed by different project proponents. Our wetlands restoration project, through the proposed new system of tidal gates, will provide environmental benefits in the Ballona Wetlands area regardless of whether the Playa Capital Co.’s Playa Vista Project is ever implemented.
Q: When was the construction contract awarded?
A: Sept. 12, 2002.
Q: Why hasn’t construction started yet?
A: The self-regulating tidegates essential to the project must be made by another company, Waterman Industries. Waterman is scheduled to complete and deliver the gates at the site Jan. 23, 2003.
Q: Some people are worried that this will be another “El Nino” year. If it occurs, will that weather hamper the construction, installation or completion of the gates before the so-called environmental window of March 15, 2003?
A: The Corps and our contractor, MARCON, have taken several steps to ensure that the project proceeds on schedule. MARCON, for example, has agreed to raise the height of certain sheet piles to protect the work site.
Q: What’s the current schedule for the construction to be finished?
A: The self-regulating tidegates are scheduled to be installed Feb. 4, 2003 and completed three days later. A trash rack would be installed Feb. 10, 2002 and completed four days later. Final inspection of the gates and trash rack would be Feb. 25, 2003. The project would be turned over to the sponsor, the city of Los Angeles, for operation and maintenance on March 4, 2003. This schedule may vary by a few days to a week, depending on the weather.
Contacts/Stakeholders
Mark Gold, Executive Director, Heal the Bay Mark Gold, Executive Director, Heal the Bay
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Wendy Rains
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Nikki Tennant, Chief of Staff, Councilmember Ruth Galanter
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Jim Doty, Environmental Group, City of L.A.
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