Fish and Game Officials to Inquire About Arroyo Seco Construction Work

State officials are planning to inquire about recent maintenance work done in the Arroyo Seco stream bed above JPL to find out if the work was properly permitted or not, according to a state Department of Fish and Game spokesman.

The work was done last week on a spreading basin the city constructed in a stream bed about three-quarters of a mile above JPL.  The basin basically acts as a pond that collects rainwater from the stream bed and returns it to the water table rather than letting it flow out to sea through the stream bed.

The that were distributed by local trail advocate Paul Ayers.  In the photos, a bulldozer is shown spreading and moving sediment in the river bed.  Local wildlife advocates have raised concerns about the work could mean for riparian wildlife in the area.

After an inquiry from Altadena Patch, Fish and Game Department spokesman Andrew Hughan said he talked to biologists in the area and none of them were familiar with the plan.  He said he was unable to find permits on file to do the work in a preliminary search.

"Nobody has asked [the department] to do anything there," Hughan said.  "But whoever owns that piece of land, it would be hard to believe they would start to do things without consulting us."

Hughan said that is is possible that the maintenance work on the spreading basin could have been done through an "ongoing maintenance agreement," with the department.  He said he would continue to try and find record of that, and that local department officials would contact Pasadena Water and Power to find out what is going on.

Pasadena officials had varied responses to whether or not the city has permits to carry out the work or not.

Brad Boman, the engineering manager in the PWP water department, said in an interview with Patch that the department does have current permits with the Fish and Game Department, though City of Pasadena spokeswoman Ann Erdman said that other PWP officials told her the work was being done on an emergency basis, which would not require permits.

Boman said that the department routinely applies for permits that cover ongoing maintenance work in the area, though he said he is not certain how frequently the department renews the permit or when officials last applied through Fish and Game.

He said that since the Station Fire, the area has required frequent maintenance as winter storms have washed high levels of sediment into the stream bed which then accumulate and clog up the basin.

The storms have also washed away fencing which used to block off the area where the spreading basins are, Boman said.

The department has also been working on maintenance on a fire road and trail in the area, which it does not have permits for currently, Boman said.  That work has not required entering the stream bed though, he said.