We, as PAVA representatives come here to inform City Council of the problems faced in our local rivers. This past summer we all participated in the Heal the Bay creek week program, a week-long summer session in which students actively went to five different creeks along the LA River.
At each location, we took several water assessments to test the quality biologically, chemically, and physically. There were a total of three procedures for these assesments. We first assessed the habitat of the creeks, looking at the surrounding animal life and exploring the scene. We then collected and examined the bugs and creatures in the rivers to see the aquatic critters that actually lived in the water. And lastly, we tested different levels of quality, including turbidity and pH levels in order to find out the chemical correlations to the natural wildlife there.
Big Tujunga Creek
Located at the northeastern reach of the Los Angeles River Watershed, this first creek we visited runs through the San Gabriel Mountains and joins with other tributaries to become one of the major creeks to the Los Angeles River. Being a natural riparian ecosystem, Big Tujunga shows many features of a river without the traces of human influence. From the results we took, it showed the river’s pristine condition. The water turbidity assessment showed the clearness as well as minor presence of other chemicals, such as copper and ammonia. Human influences such, as artificial materials were not present. The bugs we collected constituted largely of sensitive bugs, bugs that react to minor changes of the river. There were multiple tadpoles and frogs, indicating the livable quality of the water. The creek also showed heavy amounts of algae, which indicates that sunlight is usually present due to the lack of overlaying vegetation, such as trees. The biodiversity of the river was a signs of river’s sensitivity as well as its unaltered conditions. This was the water that we all wanted to dunk our feet in, but there were still slight appearances of trash around the nature near the creek.
Hansen Dam
Hansen Dam, on the other hand, slowly showed more human influence in both positive and negative developments. It is a flood basin of Big Tujunga that flows toward the Los Angeles River, showing an intersection between the natural environment and human development.The presence of trees and other vegetation prevented sunlight from reaching the water, which disabled algae growth. Despite the presence of nearby artificial structure, the water was still relatively clean. According to macro-invertebrate assessments, the bugs from the sensitive category inhabited most of the Hansen Dam River. We noticed a smaller amount of tadpoles and frogs and more sensitive critters living in the water. Large population of Willow trees only prevailed in the area, which shows that the nearby environment lacks biodiversity; however, it is still suitable for many types of wildlife. We feel that Hansen Dam is the ideal environment for us, human beings, because the environment is sustainable for the coexistence of both nature and humans.
Glendale Narrows
•As an entrance of the Los Angeles River, this soft bottom section at the Glendale Narrows clearly showed how the environment did not thrive within the city.
•Through the development of the storm drain system, we found out the pros and cons of human influence as it helped to prevent sewage treatment plants become overwhelmed by infiltration. During a rainstorm, it also can result in untreated sewage being discharged into the environment providing different life that what the nature has designed it to be.
Compton Creek
•The fourth day we visited Compton Creek, the final tributary to the Los Angeles River. Most definitely, there were first-hand effects of urban runoff and trash pollution.Compton Creek showed how the nature copes with human influence. There were signs of artificial structures such as freeways, cement pavements, and bridges indicating great deal of human influences. The water was visibly dirty and oily and so much trash from nearby restaurants and cities were piling up near the river. Due to all the trash, there was minor presence of cattail, a native plant of California, amongst foreign vegetation taking over. The water turbidity assessments showed there were heavy levels of chemicals that surpassed other rivers. There were no existence of sensitive, intermediate but only tolerant species, such as flies and mosquitoes, signs of stagnant and filthy water. Essential elements for biodiversity were not present showing the immediate need of repair. The freeway not only made the whole environment loud and disruptive, but all the runoff went to the creek. Not only does this show the destructiveness of human development, but also the ignorance of public, which stalls the improvements of the river.
Los Angeles River Mouth
On the last day, we visited the mouth of the Los Angeles River at Long Beach, where the water meets up with San Pedro Bay. The full effects of human influence on the environment were shown as the weight of the watershed came to impact the marine life.
In the mouth of the Los Angeles River, there is an accumulation of trash usually brought by storm drains. These trash are trapped by river boons that are placed throughout various locations of the river mouth. Although it prevents the dispersion of trash, the chemicals are still prone to blend with the ocean water, where other species of marine life reside in. However, these boons aren’t always successful. We realized that all the plastic was harming all the animals that mistook it for food, causing millions of death of birds such as the albatross. Like any solution to a problem, if the cause of the issue can be maintained, then the prevention of this devastation can be within our reach. We were definitely surprised by how much the water quality changed,biologically, chemically and physically coming from the top all the way to the bottom of the Los Angeles River.
Conclusion
Now, everyone knows the LA River is polluted - but to what extent? Strangely, there is no single "answer" for the level of pollution on the level. This level depends on the human influence on an area = the more people there are around the river, more polluted the river is. This is one of the many things Creek Week imparted to us. As one goes down LA River, the river gets more polluted. Through this week, we saw the impact of humans as we traveled down as it slowly crippled the river. For example, Compton Creek, located in an industrial area, was devoid of life except for a few tiny worms, while Big Tujunga Creek, located in an area with barely any human presence, was teeming with life - fish, bugs, and frogs. Records over time also shows that the river's also been getting progressively worse, something many people ignore. This program taught us that the LA River is something we should care more about. Even though we think, "oh, it's just a can" before we throw it out on the street, even that one bit of trash will make it down the river and eventually pollute the rest of the ocean. "Out of sight, out of mind" does not apply here, as what's out of sight will soon compound up, as more and more postponed jobs and scheduled events. This experience opened our eyes to the huge level of pollution in the Los Angeles River and how it affects the ecosystem and wildlife, and eventually harms people. We are here today to open up and acknowledge this creek week program to the Los Angeles city council and the rest of the public to help them understand that there are programs such as this one that can teach the younger generations. Heal the Bay and PAVA do a great job of supporting students who are interested in actually seeing what is going on in the environment in front of their eyes. Thank you for listening.
*Joo Song(Julie) Kim-Valencia High School
*Jessica Kim-West Ranch High School
*Youngmin(Justin) Yang-West Ranch High School
*Jeongwoo Seong-Valencia High School
*Alice Kim-South Pasadena High School
*Chiyoung Kim-North Hollywood High School
*Young Seok(Alvin) Kim-Valencia High School
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