Culver City Completes Stormwater Management Program

culver-city-raingarden550The City of Culver City has completed a multifaceted approach to help enhance water quality in Ballona Creek, local beaches, and coastal waters by implementing several projects that highlight water management such as rain gardens, (pictured left) storm drain screens and trash and recycling bins. Funding for these projects was provided via Proposition 50 funds, which were awarded by the State Water Resources Control Board as recommended by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (SMBRC).

Culver City’s Stormwater Management Program is comprised of a series of Best Management Practices all working together to prevent pollutants originating in the City such as trash, automotive fluids (oil, gasoline, antifreeze),and chemical wastes (paint, pesticides, fertilizers) from ending up
on Santa Monica Bay beaches and in coastal waters.

Micheál O’Leary, City of Culver City Vice Mayor and Chair of the SMBRC states, “Completing these projects demonstrates an important partnership with the SMBRC the State Water Board, the EPA,and the City which are all working together to directly address goals outlined in the SMBRC’s Bay Restoration Plan as well as State and Federal regulations to prevent storm water pollution. These improvements will benefit the entire community and fragile ecosystems, both on land and in the water.”

The nine mile long Ballona Creek, once a natural stream that was channelized in the 1930’s, drains a large portion of the Los Angeles basin, from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway (110) on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south.

At 130 square miles the Ballona Creek Watershed is the largest watershed in the Santa Monica Bay, and is comprised of all or parts of the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Inglewood, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and unincorporated communities of Los Angeles County.

” The City of Culver City appreciates the leadership of our project partners, which helped provide the much needed funding to implement these important projects. Together, we are cleaning, beautifying and improving Ballona Creek for years to come. The city is committed to pursuing projects that
promote a clean and healthy environment, and protect our Ballona Creek watershed.” said Culver City Mayor Meghan Sahli- Wells.

SMBRC hopes that data from the completed programs will be available in mid-2015. In the meantime storm drain screens and trash/recycling bins are already at work preventing trash and other pollutants from entering Ballona Creek, and the rain gardens have been successfully filtering runoff
from rainstorms, lowering the volume of polluted storm water heading into Ballona Creek and ultimately to Santa Monica Bay’s beaches and nearshore water.

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