Echo Park Lake Rehab EIR to go before City tomorrow

View from the top of the Clinton Stairs

April 2011 is just around the corner, and you know what that means – the beginning of a two-year long and very stinky Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation project.

Tomorrow is the day the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) goes to the City Council Energy and Environment Committee for review. It’s difficult to tell whether or not the final EIR makes Echo Park activists happy -the nearly 500 page EIR is quite complicated and difficult to interpret (to fully understand everything you’d probably need a degree in City Planning, Architecture, and Environmental Policy of some sort). Residents with concerns had until August 30, 2010 to submit comments for review prior to the final EIR.

You can download the Final EIR (if you dare, the file is quite large) by clicking here.

Pollution and much-needed updates to the filtration systems are behind the Prop O funded rehab project, which is scheduled for April 2011. They will drain the 13 acre lake and haul out approximately 50,000 cubic feet of soil from the bottom, replace the lake liner, rebuild the wetlands, and replant other vegetation (including the lotus bed). They filtration systems will also be updated, as the lake does collect water runoff from the city, and will help reduce the amount of city water used to keep the lake levels high.

Wildlife activists and bird lovers have been concerned with the state of the migratory birds once the lake is drained. A compromise has been reached, and the engineers will include four temporary pools for migratory birds.

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One Response to “Echo Park Lake Rehab EIR to go before City tomorrow”

1. Bad idea for the comunnity says:

   November 24, 2010 at 8:16 pm

   Wow were do I begin lets remember that Echo Park Lake was put on the impaired body of water list for lead, mercury and other harmful contaminents. When they drain the lake they will have to let it dry which means there will be toxic dust. This dust will contain all the harmful contaminents that made the lake an impaired body of water. Yes! the lake already had these contaminents but, while the water is on top of it they have no way out. I don’t think they should not do it but come up with a better idea with out taking out the water and expossing all of our children to toxice dust remember they said two years I know beter more like 3 to 4 years. I don’t think anybody will ever want to move in to echo park with the toxic dust cloud.