A New Life for Pasadena's Arroyo Seco

Sometimes it needs a little help.

Since Friday, bulldozers and dump trucks have been at work in Pasadena in a section of the Arroyo Seco, a major tributary of the Los Angeles River that has been choked by 450 tons of jagged concrete thought to be debris from construction of the 210 Freeway.

For at least 30 years, the mess has littered the channel, one of the most heavily used recreation corridors in the Los Angeles area. Hundreds of people stroll, picnic and otherwise enjoy the area on any given day.

The work is taking place in two areas temporarily closed to the public: one just south of Devil's Gate Dam, the other just north of the Colorado Boulevard bridge. By the end of the month, the two 10-acre stretches will be reopened to hikers, equestrians, bird watchers, dog walkers and others who wander the embankments in search of open space and sunshine.

The concrete removal is part of a $1-million restoration project begun late last year by the city of Pasadena with the help of state funds. Talk of the project began 10 years ago, but it was pushed to reality by the Pasadena City Council after a persistent search for grant money. The project was funded through a state ballot measure, the Safe Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Act of 2000.

No one is sure where the concrete slabs came from. City officials say they hinder flood control because they raise the level of runoff in the arroyo, which threatens to erode pilings holding up the 210 Freeway.

"They were probably put there to hold up scaffolding for the freeway construction," said Lynne Dwyer, a contractor supervising the landscaping work. In 1973, floodwater washed out part of the freeway -- then under construction -- and could have left some of the debris.

Tim Brick, managing director of the conservation-minded Arroyo Seco Foundation, said the jagged concrete blocks and twisted steel reinforcing bars need to be removed not only to enhance flood control but also to improve safety and aesthetics.

"They are dangerous, they are slippery, they are obstructions," Brick said. "It is a very large form of litter."

The work is a key example of how Southern California's waterways can be restored to a wild state benefiting people who visit and fauna that live there, say those who helped make it happen. "The streams and rivers of Southern California have been greatly abused. This isn't just for the arroyo. We're saying we need to treat all the streams of Southern California with respect," Brick said.