A Drop in the Bucket
Rainy days are beautiful, but they also can remind us of our ecological problems.
When rain hits our parched foothills, it's beautiful. And we're getting a whole lot of beautiful this week. By Monday, I was wading through 12 inches of beautiful, setting up ad-hoc berms with sand bags, plastic, bricks.
Some Altadena streets, mine for instance, have no curbs or gutters. Still, most of our houses have been around for at least 90 years, and if they didn't float away during the Roaring Twenties or the Great Depression, chances are they're not going anywhere this year either. I suspect, though, many of our structures survived in the early years because the roads weren't paved; rain could sink into the ground, and as an added benefit, replenish the water table.
These days, we lose most of the rainwater that comes our way. It leaves the hills for a long, mean journey to the Pacific Ocean, meeting up with all sorts of questionable company along the way – motor oil, fertilizer, pesticides, and tennis shoes. In its current configuration, the LA River is a marvel of engineering and infrastructure that turns pure water into something polluted and deadly.
At our own homes, we can rig up something to capture rainwater, at least, keep a few gallons from the gutters (if you've got them) or the street (if you don't.) And I've got some rain barrels, by the way. But in the grand scheme of things, my saving a few barrels of water strikes me as, well, ineffectual. Like thinking I've made an ecological statement by cutting a minute off my shower time or taking a canvas bag to Trader Joe's.
I wonder whether little things make a difference or just divert our attention, keep us from making a difference of true significance.
When it comes to capturing rainwater in measurable amounts, there are many viable, but barely tested, ideas. Among them are permeable roads, sidewalks, pavement, to something called swales – landscaping that directs and captures water in personal landscapes, but on a community-wide scale. All this takes commitment, common cause, and, of course, money.
Which takes us back to Hahamongna -- our friend through fair weather and foul, one who needs no handout, just a hands-off. It's a natural watershed, a soft-bottomed bowl of gravel and sand, part of (I think) the Raymond Basin that stretches all the way to Henry Huntington's library. Water sinks through the soil and is captured for use on our many, many un-rainy days.
I wonder what it would take to get the City of Pasadena to abandon its ridiculous plan for paving or otherwise "improving" the watershed with athletic fields (one for now, but absolutely no guarantee it will stay at one) and parking lots and nature center. Neither common sense nor public opinion seems to have had any impact.
The Pasadena City Council cited their growing population's ever increasing need for a good soccer game. I'm no city planner, but I'd be more concerned with the growing population's ever-increasing thirst.
I remember hearing last year that the city of Pasadena was encouraging neighbor to "report" neighbors if they watered on the wrong days or had leaky sprinklers or something. I found the idea particularly creepy. However, if the city next door goes ahead with the "master plan" for Hahamongna, I can see how ratting out a neighbor would give me a certain amount of satisfaction.
Leslie Aitken
9:16 am on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Back in the old days, when we had cespool instead of the sewer, and six people living in the house, the cespool got pretty full. So we jury rigged a gray water system that diverted all of the sink, tub and washing machine water into my backyard via a hose. Our filter was an old nylon stocking and we switched to all eco friendly soaps. My water bill dropped and my yard absolutely thrived. When we eventually had to hook up to the sewer (as required by the county), my plumber told me that the only way we could restablish a gray water system would be to apply to the county to get a permit. To get the permit, a research study would need to be done to see what the impact would be on the local environment and that would take a couple of years. Needless to say.....the gray water now goes into the sewer, which is now being messed with by the roots of those dad-gummed sumac trees!! Now we have come full circle......
Jean Spitzer
9:34 am on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The small things do make a difference. But wouldn't it be grand if you could stop the soccer field and its ilk from screwing up Hahamongna?
Ron Rosen
9:40 am on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Another great piece. Barrels? Really?
Petrea Burchard
10:58 am on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Hear here, Karin. Despite the rain we're having this week, scientists continue to predict long-term drought for our area. The short-sightedness of building anything--ANYTHING--in our watershed is beyond me.
Chris Johnson
2:15 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
I was there and took pictures last night and last Tuesday. The difference is amazing, especially for December. And I agree about destroying the watershed. It just doesn’t make since. Using fear for one thing just isn’t right. Schools closing, teachers being fired and they find themselves with $35 million project like this, because of poor management. SAD! And we don’t need more soccer fields. I love both nature and soccer. I have been involved with local soccer my whole life. What we need is better management of Pasadena fields. During the week practice space is always an issue, but lights at few locations including the Rose Bowl would take care of this. And I know this won’t happen, but I’d rather see that than Hahamongna flatten.
Save Hahamongna!
Karin Bugge
3:13 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Chris, got any pictures to post? Because you're right, I couldn't believe the difference in water levels between Saturday and Monday.
Leslie, so glad you brought up the gray water issue. That should (will?) be a whole series.
Hi to my Hahamongna friends -- Petrea, Ron, Jean.
Margaret Finnegan
4:02 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
I agree with everyone. This is a fine piece of writing. I like what you're doing up that, Altadena Patch
Chris Johnson
4:46 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
I took the picture without the water last Tuesday 12/14, the one with orange containment boom on Sunday and the last one with lights on Monday.
Dan Abendschein
5:26 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
@Chris- Wow. That is a big difference. Thanks for posting it.
Robby
6:32 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
For grins and giggles, I plopped a 30-gallon OSH trash can where it can catch some rain before this last storm. I wondered if it would even collect enough water to measure. It filled up IN HOURS. I was flabbergasted. I recall reading somewhere that people off-grid can actually live off rainfall catchment - I am going to go back and read up on rainfall volumes, because I was totally taken aback by this week's little experiment in rain-barrelling.
And thanks for the photo Karin! I've been keeping a nervous eye on the dam all week! It's supposed to be a rain-pocolypse tonight...should be interesting to see the dam level this time Wednesday.
Robby
6:34 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Oh, sorry, thanks for the photo, ->Chris<-.
Karin Bugge
7:41 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Chris, your photos are great. Will you take another tomorrow, from the same perspective? I will too, but yours tell the story (and in much better colors).
Robby, I know; Nervous, but awestruck. Batten the hatches.
And Margaret, I agree -- and much credit to Dan.
Barbara Ellis
7:59 pm on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Perhaps some of that water stored behind Devil's Gate dam right now will seep into the ground to replenish the aquifer - if it goes deep enough, it will provide Pasadena with water for many years, once the contaminants have been taken out of it. Does anyone know if the flood waters have reached the place where the soccer pitch is due to go? By the way, I LOVE your description of the LA "river" channel. In the past, there were extensive wetlands with reed beds by the river mouth in Long Beach that cleansed the water before it got into the ocean. Nowadays, they allow housing developments on what's left of them.
Chris Johnson
10:11 am on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
My pleasure, I have always enjoyed photography. And yes Karen I was hoping to get over there today to check it. I want see if it’s going over spillway like it did in 2005.
Chris Johnson
8:05 pm on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Even with all the rain today, the level was lower at the damn. They are letting water out of tunnel near the Devil’s gate/ face. It is an impressive amount of water. Couldn’t get clear picture of it without risking falling in (and needing rescue), but last pic is just below damn.
Ron Rosen
8:55 pm on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Love that picture of the water after it comes out of the tunnel.
Karin Bugge
8:24 pm on Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Chris, kudos for getting that damn dam, and for not falling in! I was too chicken to go there tonight. But I'll be there in the morning. Your shot of the rushing water is awesome.