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Community Corner

'There's a River in Los Angeles?'

A kayaking pilot program launches on the Los Angeles river, and one paddler found a lot more than concrete during her adventure.

Last week, I kayaked the Los Angeles River.

Here’s some of the feedback I got from friends about my trip:

“You did what?” 

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“Why would you do that?”

“You kayaked on concrete?”

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“That doesn’t sound like fun.”

And finally ...

It’s not surprising that people are confused.  For more than 70 years, most of the Los Angeles River’s 51 miles have been a concrete-lined channel.

There is a River in Los Angeles

Reintroducing Angelenos to the river that curves--forgotten but in plain sight--through their city is the goal of "Paddle the Los Angeles River."   The first permitted, recreational and non-motorized boating program in L.A. history was --literally and figuratively—from a muddy river bank underneath the Balboa Street Bridge on Aug. 8.

Among those in attendance at the launch were members of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, which will administer the program, and rangers from the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). Both will accompany boaters--40 a weekend until the end of September--in the role of guides and educators and, if necessary, paramedics and swift water rescuers.

As city officials clambered into kayaks and canoes for a ceremonial paddle, a cormorant groomed himself, unconcerned, on a nearby rock in the middle of the brownish-green water.

Flowers and Trees Instead of Concrete

A few days later, I was paddling along the swiftly flowing river lined by cottonwood and buttonwillow trees.  Clumps of sunflowers burst like fireworks along the banks while cascades of yellow monkey flower reached towards the water below.  There were rocks.  There were small rapids.  There were people fishing.  There were walls of green vegetation on either side and a blue sky overhead.

I felt like Dorothy of Oz in reverse.  It didn’t seem like we were in California anymore, but based on the unspoiled setting, we could have been in Kansas.

L.A. Water History Lesson

In fact, we were paddling a two-and-a-half mile section of the river that stretched from the Sepulveda Flood Basin in Encino to Burbank Boulevard and the Sepulveda Dam. As explained by Melanie Winter, Director of The River Project, this part of the river is one of a few stretches that has never been concreted because it’s in a flood basin.  (Ed.: The Glendale Narrows near Echo Park and Silver Lake is another.)  It’s earth-bottomed and it’s supposed to overflow its banks.

That was a surprise.

I’d always heard that the L.A. River was corralled with concrete because of floods in the 1930s. According to Winters, the real reason is that houses were built inside the flood plain and Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler pushed for the channelization of the river to foster further real estate development.

Paying for Water

The flooding L.A. River, which once replenished the subterranean aquifers that provided Los Angeles with most of its water, now sweeps the rainwater to the sea. As a result, the Owens Valley aqueduct (remember Chinatown?) supplies Los Angeles with most of its water.

According to Winter, bringing water from Owens Valley costs four times as much as it would if the concrete was removed from the L.A. River and the replenished aquifers once again supplied Los Angeles with water.

The paddling makes me thirsty.  I juggle camera, paddle and my stainless steel water bottle--no plastic or glass is allowed on the river--and swig some water. I imagine drinking water that has been filtered by rock and sediment as it trickles down to the aquifers.

A Refuge for Birds

Butterflies and birds are everywhere. Because of the river overflow, the Sepulveda Flood Basin is home to over 200 species of birds.  As we paddle, we see cormorants, snowy egrets, green night herons and ducks. Three red-tailed hawks circle in triangular formation above the sycamores and oaks. A great blue heron lifts lazily from the river and strokes his way slowly downstream. He looks about as big as a pterodactyl.

I am so busy taking photos I keep running into the river bank.

We learn that every paddle will have a guest educator like Winter.  The next day, an Audubon Society member will join the excursion, which costs $50 person, plus a $3.74 handling fee. The late start of the Paddle program means a short season, so, sadly, all the slots are taken for this year.

Pilot Program to Green Belt

However, if the pilot program goes well, there will be slots throughout the summer next year. If the pilot program goes well, the earth-bottomed, tree-lined Glendale Narrows just northwest of Mount Washington and Highland Park, will be opened up to kayaks and canoes.  Boating on the Los Angeles River will be as accessible as hiking Angeles Crest.

And eventually, in the years to come, the riverside “green belt” of vegetation and wildlife habitats envisioned by the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan will stretch from the Santa Susana Mountains in the San Fernando Valley to the sea in Long Beach.

And everyone will know that there’s a river in Los Angeles.

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