Stakeholder Meeting Minutes: WatershedWise Magazine:




Edward Belden
Water Programs Manager
Ph: (213)-229-9947
Fax: (213)-229-9952
E-mail: edward@lasgrwc.org
    
OVERVIEW
The Los Angeles River Watershed-wide Monitoring Program (LARWMP) is currently under development by a group of multiple stakeholders representing major permittees, regulatory and management agencies, and conservation groups. The goals of the monitoring program, as outlined in the NPDES permits for three of the Cities’ water reclamation plants, are to evaluate and/or assess:
  • Compliance with receiving water objectives
  • Trends in surface water quality
  • Impacts to beneficial uses
  • Health of the biological community
  • Data needs for modeling contaminants of concern
  • Attaining the goals of the TMDLs established for the watershed.
These goals will be addressed through a combination of existing compliance and assessment monitoring, new efforts, and the integration of ongoing and planned special studies in the watershed. In addition, regional efforts underway through the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, and the Stormwater Monitoring Coalition (SMC) will provide further useful guidance for the development of this program. As these various adjustments and additions to exiting monitoring are considered, it will be important to ensure that the regional program minimizes overlap and duplication of effort with existing programs while maximizing the extent to which it leverages and otherwise builds on these efforts.





Patterned after a similar program developed for the San Gabriel River Watershed, the LARWMP incorporates local and site-specific issues within a broader watershed-scale perspective. In addition, development of the LARWMP will consider improving overall cost effectiveness of monitoring efforts in the watershed. The plan will include recommendations intended to reduce redundancies within and between existing monitoring programs, target monitoring efforts on contaminants of concern, and adjust monitoring locations and sampling frequencies to better respond to management priorities in the Los Angeles River watershed.

 





The workgroup convened to prepare the LARWMP identified five core questions that provide the structure for the regional program:

  • What is the environmental health of streams in the overall watershed?
  • Are the conditions at areas of unique importance getting better or worse?
  • Are receiving waters near discharges meeting water quality objectives?
  • Are local fish safe to eat?
  • Is body contact recreation safe?
The workgroup next recommended monitoring designs to effectively and efficiently answer the core questions to achieve multiple objectives. The resulting program will be a multi-level monitoring framework that combines probabilistic and targeted sampling for water quality, toxicity, and bio-assessment and habitat condition.


The workgroup intends to continue its work during 2008 to begin actual program implementation. Anticipated efficiencies achieved through adjustments to existing compliance monitoring programs will likely be reallocated to cover costs of the additional components of the program. The LARWMP will be fully implemented through a collaborative effort led by the Watershed Council, in cooperation with the cities of Burbank and Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, USEPA and others.


Results of the ambient assessment will provide a context for evaluating water quality and stream conditions below permitted discharge locations. Results will also help to identify areas where expanded monitoring or special studies should be focused. It is anticipated that this program will improve inter-agency coordination and cost-effectiveness of disparate monitoring efforts, generate more robust monitoring data, and serve as a framework for periodic and comprehensive assessments of watershed condition.
 
DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS
 (PDF format)		        
Summary of Existing Monitoring Programs in the Los Angeles River Watershed (341 Kb)      
MAPS		        
Existing Monitoring Sites Within the Upper Los Angeles River Watershed
(4.5 Mb)

Existing Monitoring Sites Within the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed
(3Mb) 		       
PARTNERS		        
• City of Burbank
• City of Downey
• City of Los Angeles
• Friends of Los Angeles River
• LA & SG River Watershed Council
• LA County Department of Public Works
• LA County Sanitation Districts
• LA Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Orange County Stormwater Program
• San Gabriel Mtns Regional Conservancy
• SCCWRP
• US Army Corps of Engineers
• US EPA
• US Forest Service		        
       
         
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