 |  | | Silver Lake Reservoir looking northeast. (Photo courtesy of SLRA and Doug Baldwin) | |
Within the next five years Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs will cease be a source of water for the City. But many questions about the future of the reservoirs and the open space around them, and the question of who will be responsible for maintaining the properties, are unresolved.
Last year it looked like the Department of Water and Power (DWP) was set to embark on a five year, highly disruptive construction project to install giant buried water storage tanks around the reservoir. On the positive side, the end result would include newly opened parkland, a jogging path around the reservoir, and safety improvements to surrounding streets.
Earlier this year, Council District 4 representative Tom LaBonge announced that DWP was considering a completely different site for a covered storage facility on a site on the north side of Griffith Park.
The prospect of not having a major, long-term construction project in the neighborhood came as a relief to many, and the idea of enabling public access to the entire reservoir property was exciting to many more.
If the City chooses the site in Griffith Park, however, it raises questions about who will maintain the new lakes and parkland that could be opened at the reservoir complex, and where the money will come from to create them.
Why is This Happening?
 | | | View to the northeast, 1924 (Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library) | |
One of the problems with open reservoirs is that they are typically treated with chlorine to control the growth of algae. In sunlight chlorine also reacts with other organic materials and, unfortunately, produces substances known to cause cancer in laboratory rats. State and federal regulations seek to eliminate this and other risks to public health from open-air reservoirs.
In 1988, DWP published a proposal for the City's ten open-air reservoirs that included covering Ivanhoe Reservoir and building a large water treatment facility for Silver Lake Reservoir. The proposals were not attractive to the various reservoir communities throughout the City, and groups sprang up to fight the plan including the Committee to Save Silver Lake Reservoirs (CSSLR).
After threats of litigation, and after the LA City Council passed a resolution critical of the proposals, DWP invited the various groups to join a mediation process to work out water quality problems and solutions.
Between 1997 and 2000 the Silver Lake Master Plan was developed to "consider the future development" of the Silver Lake Reservoir Complex (SLRC). The Plan outlines several of the options for ensuring water quality including on-site and off-site water treatment facilities and the construction of buried water storage tanks within the reservoir grounds which would allow the reservoir to be taken out of service.
To the community's benefit, and much to its pleasure, the Plan also includes plans to open some of the reservoir grounds for public enjoyment. New park space would be created in the Meadows on the northeast side of the reservoir, a jogging path would be created around the entire complex, and safety improvements would be made to Silver Lake Blvd and W. Silver Lake Dr. In the Plan, DWP commits $15-20 million to the project.
2002—A Major Construction Project
A year ago, CSSLR held a community open house at Marshall High School to exhibit four plan variations that DWP was making for buried water storage tanks on the reservoir grounds.
Open house attendees generally preferred the fourth alternative, Concept D, which would change the shoreline of the reservoir and would create some additional open space.
Still, Ivanhoe Reservoir might be covered, much to the dismay of those who would lose their water view. The project would take five years to complete and would require major disruption as well as wear-and-tear on the neighborhood, with noisy heavy-equipment and endless truck traffic. Even though it would actually create a little more public open space, this was still not an attractive plan to community members, CSSLR and the Silver Lake Residents Association (SLRA). But with few options and regulations to be met, people tried to adjust to the idea.
2003—Another Proposal and a New Twist
 | | | Silver Lake Reservoir was drained in 1951 to replace a bypass line and to pave its to minimize erosion and plant growth. (Photo courtesy of SLRA) | |
Last spring, City Councilmember Tom LaBonge announce that DWP was considering a completely different site for the buried storage tanks on the north side of Griffith Park in an area called the Headworks Spreading Grounds. DWP recently held a public forum to review this proposal with the community. DWP presenters included Glenn Singley and Paul Liu of DWP.
The Headworks site is located between Forest Lawn to the south and the 134 Freeway to the north. At one time, it was a spillover area for the LA River and replenished ground water in the area. The area is no longer used for that purpose because of chemical and heavy metal contamination.
The Headworks project would include a 110 million gallon buried reservoir tank and would be covered with new park area. Because water being piped into the facility would be coming in at a substantial pressure, the project proposal includes a small hydroelectric plant which would use that pressure to generate 4 megawatts of electricity. The site is conveniently located next to major power lines which it could feed into.
Water from the Headworks reservoir would be piped back to Silver Lake. The pipe would enter at the northern end of the complex and would be laid across the bottom of both reservoirs to connect to a new regulating station near the Silver Lake Recreation Center at the southern end. The water from the pipe would not mix with the water in the reservoirs-now lakes. According to DWP, the reservoirs would be drained and empty for a year while the pipe is laid.
|  | | Silver Lake Reservoir looking east. (Photo courtesty of Doug Baldwin and SLRA) | |
What About the SLRC and the Master Plan?
The Headworks project is attractive on many levels. The possibilities for further expanding plans for public use of the Silver Lake Reservoir Complex are exciting to the community, and there would surely be studies to expand the Master Plan.
But who will own the property and who will maintain it? DWP currently owns it, but has indicated that it would like to turn the property—and it's maintenance—over to the Department of Recreation and Parks. DWP doesn't think of itself as being in the business of recreation and parks. Rec & Parks, on the other hand, would require more funding to renovate, staff and maintain the new park area. Where will that money come from? Will DWP maintain its $15-20 million commitment to the Master Plan project?
In order to proceed with the Headworks project, DWP must produce an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that talks about the impact of the project on both the Headworks site and the SLRC. Prior to the recent public meeting, DWP issued its proposal for the EIR.
As pointed out by David Keitel of CSSLR and Maryann Kuk, president SLRA, the proposed EIR would not answer the long-term questions above. Keitel and Kuk do not want to leave open any possibility that the Headworks project could be begun, much less completed, without addressing the long-term issues. More specifically, they believe that the EIR should answer the questions of what will become of the reservoir environment, who will maintain it, and where the money will come from for renovation and maintenance.
Next Steps:
 | | | Northwest view from southeast end. Taken near Fanning and Silverwood Terrace. 1987 (Photo courtesy of Doug Baldwin and SLRA) | |
At this point, representatives of DWP and CSSLR think the Headworks project is practically a done deal-but the no proposal has officially been eliminated.
By law, spoken and written responses to the EIR proposal must be included in the final EIR. And so, Keitel and Kuk may have forced the proposal writers to address their long-term concerns.
Councilmember Tom LaBonge has named two possibilities for maintaining the new lake/park areas in Silver Lake. In one, a special assessment would be added to the property of owners who enjoy proximity to the lakes. In another, a Bureau of Land Management would be created within DWP to support and maintain Silver Lake and other non-water producing properties that DWP owns.
According to Paul Liu, DWP will be meeting regularly with CSSLR and City representatives to resolve these outstanding issues, and the Draft EIR will be presented before the end of 2004.
In the mean time, construction of the first phase of the Silver Lake Master Plan is set to begin in June 2004. CSSLR invites you to attend an Open House to unveil the project will be held on Saturday, Nov 22 at the Silver Lake Rec Center from 11 am to 3 pm.
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