Kayakers to paddle length of L.A. River this weekend

Is the L.A. River actually a river? It used to be, before it was encased in concrete from Canoga Park to its terminus in Long Beach and turned into a giant storm drain. Then came the decision last spring by the Army Corps of Engineers that, because the waterway is no longer navigable, it's not a river at all.

Blogger George Wolfe of the tongue-in-cheek LaLa Times promptly took to the water in protest. (That's Wolfe in the photo. Hi George!) He's at it again today, leading a dozen kayakers on a three-day trip down the 51-mile length of the L.A. River, paddling from Canoga Park to Long Beach to prove that the feds are wrong. Here's the story from LAist:

This afternoon in Canoga Park, 12 kayakers are going to begin a 51-mile, three-day journey down the LA River to Long Beach. They have no permit to enter the river, but that's part of the point. The Army Corps of Engineers caused a stir in the community last month when they declared that the Los Angeles River was not, in fact, a river because it was not navigable, save for two spots.

Many people, including politicians, community members, environmentalists and George Wolfe, Editor of the LaLa Times and the leader of today's expedition, said this is detrimental to the city. "We’re here to defend the right of the people of Los Angeles to use their own river. The city was founded where it is precisely because of the river," Wolfe explains noting that this weekend's expedition takes the stance that "public trust law in California contains certain inalienable rights of access to the waters of the U.S., and that these time-honored, common sense laws supersede all bureaucratic misgivings, justifications and obfuscations regarding the denial of our request."

Supporters are welcome to come watch the 3:00 p.m. launch at headwaters in Canoga Park. Details and directions are on LAist. For more about river advocacy, visit Friends of the LA River.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[maria e gonzalez]

what exact route did they take, just in case my kayak and I would be so inclined to at least navigate a portion

[Polaris]

The USACE’s failure to designate the entire 52 miles of the LA River as a “Traditionally Navigable Waterbody”(TNW), and instead only designate two small sections as such (the Sepulveda basin and the mouth of the LA River) could have disastrous consequences for the water quality of the LA River watershed. This is important because following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision called Rapanos vs. United States, tributaries and wetlands lose their historic federal Clean Water Act (CWA) safeguards if the USACE does not demonstrated they effect the health of a TNW. The closer wetlands and creeks are to a TNW the easier it is to demonstrate that they affect the integrity of the TNW and thus retain CWA protection on them.

The Sepulveda Basin is 40 river miles upstream from the tidally influenced par t of the LA River mouth. So for example, if a sub-watershed confluences with the LA River downstream from the Sepulveda Basin, the Corps would have to show how the tributary or wetland undergoing review is affecting the river mouth (instead of on the LA River main stem that it directly flows to). This could add a maximum of 40 river miles to the analysis and severely decrease the likelihood of retaining CWA safeguards on numerous wetlands and tributaries in the LA River watershed.

This decision, if allowed to stand, will have grave consequences for the River and Los Angeles. The Clean Water Act is the federal government’s tool to “restore and maintain the physical, chemical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.” Without the entire LA River being given TNW status, the USACE has chosen to stop far short of retaining the historic maxim allowable protections on watershed, and has open the door to potentially hazardous development of adjacent landforms through which water flows into the River.

Our River meets the legal definition of a TNW. The Corps has admitted they know the river is navigable-in-fact. Meaning one can float a boat down the entire river. Additionally, Los Angeles’ vision, created by neighborhoods, civic institutions, and government as summarized in the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, specifically shows our official plans to enhanced the already existing boating in the river. This will be accomplished by installing ten removable rubber dams that will provide enhanced recreational boating that will generate interstate commerce. As such the entire 52 mile river meets the future use test under the definition of what a TNW is, and thus our river deserves to be officially designed as a TNW. At a time when our city is taking steps to restore the L.A. River as a public natural space, this decision as is, represents a huge step backward.

Los Angeles must stand together and demand that the Environmental Protection Agency exercise its power to reverse this finding – not just for our river, but for regional waterways across the country that may be threatened by this bad precedent. I sent a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson and encourage all people who love Clean Water to do the same. Letters may be directed to: Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460.

Also please call COL Magness at the USACE and let him know you want the entire LA River to be deemed a TNW. He can be reached at (213) 452-3961. But don’t let him trick you by saying the entire LA river is “navigable”. “Navigable” is a different term then “TNW” and calling the LA River “navigable” does not give the over all watershed nearly as much protection as deeming it a TNW would.

[Don]

Sounds like a good way to experiment with West Nile Virus while working on your tan