Altering the breakwater won’t do it. Eliminating plastic bags won’t do it. Slapping lawsuits on the Los Angeles cities that dump pollutants into the Los Angeles River won’t do it.
For years, Long Beach residents have asked for a way to clean dreadful water quality along the shoreline.
Last week, a major step was taken to make their dreams come true.
A $5 million plan was approved to outfit 16 cities along the Los Angeles River with catch basins, which prevent trash and debris from entering the river and riding the water highway straight to the shores of Long Beach.
The move will prevent an estimated 400 tons of trash and debris from entering the river each year. More than 12,000 basins will be inserted at stormdrains throughout cities that empty into the river, and the full year of construction – funded by federal Stimulus monies – will create 200 temporary jobs when it begins in a few weeks.
Another $4 million will be available to those cities to install curb-level screens that prevent trash and debris from entering the stormdrain system at all. The City of Long Beach has extensively used catch basins, curb screens and nearly 2,000 smart sponges that absorb pollutants for more than a year.
An lbpost.com article published in July highlighted the City’s efforts to clean its stormdrains and eliminate pollution being sent into the river and ocean.
Last Thursday’s decision to approve the funding by the Los Angeles Gateway Authority marks the first step to help other cities clean up their contributions to the Los Angeles River.
“For many years, our beaches and coastal water quality have suffered,” said Mayor Bob Foster, in a press release. “This project will help reduce the amount of trash that ends up on the Long Beach shoreline. I look forward to the swift implementation of this project.”
The cities that will receive the catch basin inserts are: Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Compton, Cudahy, Downey, Huntington Park, Long Beach, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Signal Hill, South Gate and Vernon.
Photo courtesy City of Long Beach