\u201cLong before the channeling of the Arroyo Seco, the natural springs, the sacred springs that were there, it was a traditional gathering place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Though the city of L.A. itself has no financial stake in the project, one City Council member has called for the project to be abandoned.<\/p>\n
The backlash has been so intense that the city of Pasadena recently hired a local nonprofit, Active San Gabriel Valley, to help with public outreach (the group supported the project when it was first proposed<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Most everyone agrees that the Arroyo Seco\u2019s water needs to be cleaned and that nature around it should be restored. But how to do that \u2014 well, there\u2019s the rub.<\/p>\n Opponents of the project are hoping to protect a small creek in a densely wooded area that straddles L.A. and South Pasadena, near San Pascual and Arroyo parks. <\/p>\n How we got here<\/p>\n The Arroyo Seco \u2014 or \u201cdry stream\u201d in Spanish \u2014 is a 25-mile winding stream that has little water much of the year but can swell to a torrent with rains. That\u2019s why, in the late 1930s and ’40s after devastating floods, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lined much of the channel with concrete.<\/p>\n Pollutants flow into the Arroyo from millions of homes and businesses and miles of freeways and streets that crisscross the watershed. The river has repeatedly received an \u201cF\u201d grade for bacteria contamination in report cards by nonprofit Heal the Bay<\/a>.<\/p>\n Federal and state law requires California to identify and clean up water bodies that don\u2019t meet quality standards. In 2010, the state adopted bacteria limits for the Arroyo Seco, and identified outfalls (essentially drains) with high levels of contamination. One of those spots was where the San Rafael creek flows into the channelized Arroyo, and it was within Pasadena\u2019s city limits.<\/p>\n Over the years, Pasadena and cities along the upper Arroyo worked to develop a management plan \u2014 by 2016, it was approved by the state<\/a>. In 2019, the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena secured an initial grant for a joint project to clean water from the arroyo.<\/p>\n This spot where the San Rafael creek flows into the Arroyo Seco has been identified as having high bacteria levels.<\/p>\n What will the project look like?\u00a0<\/p>\n The cities\u2019 engineers identified two sites, both largely inaccessible or unused by the public. They dubbed the first the San Rafael site \u2014 about 1.4 acres in Pasadena where the San Rafael creek empties into the Arroyo Seco.<\/p>\n Just downstream, they identified a sliver of densely wooded open space in South Pasadena they thought could be rehabilitated. They called those 2 acres the San Pascual site. They developed plans for both areas to build wetlands with native trees and plants, walking paths, as well as underground infrastructure to treat the water for zinc and E. coli and filter out trash. Construction, they said, would take less than two years.<\/p>\n In recent years, Pasadena and South Pasadena secured nearly $15 million for the project.<\/p>\n Renderings of the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project<\/p>\n Renderings and maps from the draft environmental impact report show how the cities of Pasadena and South Pasadena plan to carry out the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project, if it goes forward. <\/p>\n \n Renderings show what the proposed San Rafael site, in Pasadena, could look like. At the bottom left, is what the site currently looks like. This site has little opposition, and would open a space currently inaccessible to the public.\n <\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Erin Stone<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Courtesy City of Pasadena<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n \n A rendering shows what the San Pascual site is proposed to look like. About a half acre of the site is within L.A. city limits, sparking controversy. At bottom left is what the site looks like now.\n <\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Erin Stone<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Courtesy City of Pasadena<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n \n This map shows the proximity of the two sites that make up the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse project proposed by Pasadena and South Pasadena.\n <\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Erin Stone<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Courtesy City of Pasadena<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Opposition grows<\/p>\n One problem? About a half an acre of the San Pascual site is within the city of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n And about 10% of the water captured and treated would end up irrigating the nearby public golf course in South Pasadena, according to the draft environmental impact report<\/a>. Today, water from the arroyo already helps keep fairways green at the golf course through a diversion that\u2019s been in place since the stream was channelized nearly a century ago, officials said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be noted that the amount of water supplied to the Golf Course for irrigation will remain the same pre- and post-construction,\u201d the draft environmental impact report states.<\/p>\n The blue icon on this map from L.A. County land records marks the strip of land that has generated the most controversy about the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project. These 2.2 acres straddle both L.A. and South Pasadena. There are no plans to alter the surrounding parks and baseball fields. <\/p>\n The Arroyo Seco Water Reuse Project by the numbers<\/p>\n According to the draft environmental impact report, the two project sites could:\u00a0<\/p>\n Treat 534 acre-feet per year of runoff. (By comparison, the entire city of L.A. uses about 500,000 acre-feet of water per year)Capture 320 acre-feet per year of stormwater to recharge groundwater.Supply about 30 acre-feet of water for irrigation at the South Pasadena golf course, fully meeting its annual water needs.<\/p>\n The cities put together their first plans for the project<\/a> in late 2023. But early on they did little community outreach on the L.A. side, and none in Spanish, and soon passionate opposition arose.<\/p>\n In 2024, Los Angeles resident Clara Solis sued the cities to stop the project. To avoid litigation, Pasadena agreed to do a full environmental impact report. In early May, the city released a draft <\/a>for public comment.<\/p>\n But opponents like Solis say the revised plan is essentially the same and doesn\u2019t go far enough to protect mature trees and existing wildlife habitat.<\/p>\n A few planks of wood and metal casing mark where water has been diverted from the Arroyo Seco to irrigate a downstream public golf course. The diversion has existed since the mid-20th century, when the arroyo was first channelized. <\/p>\n A diversion from the Arroyo Seco that’s existed since the late 1940s sends water from the river to this creek, which eventually goes underground to irrigate a downstream golf course. <\/p>\n A wild haven in the city\u00a0<\/p>\n The San Pascual site is surrounded by several parks \u2014 the main section of San Pascual Park, on the L.A. side, just across the channelized river from the proposed project site, and Arroyo Park on the South Pasadena side.<\/p>\n On a recent weekend, the parks were full \u2014 people set up picnics on the grass, parents cheered as their kids played baseball. Runners made their rounds.<\/p>\n Solis has lived nearby for more than 20 years. When her children were growing up, they\u2019d spot fish and frogs in the creek and sit under the trees, listening to the birds. Today, she and her dog, Summer, often see a blue heron.<\/p>\n Clara Solis, along with her dog Summer, picks up trash along the Arroyo Seco in June. <\/p>\n To her, unlike the more manicured parks surrounding it, this spot is a rare wild gem in the middle of the city.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aThere’s one huge oak, we call it the mother because it’s so big, and she’s going to get cut down, and it’s just heartbreaking to us,\u201d Solis said.<\/p>\n And construction will undoubtedly affect L.A. residents, whose neighborhoods are closest to the San Pascual project site.<\/p>\n \u201cSouth Pasadena and Pasadena are not sensitive to the people of Los Angeles,\u201d said Robert Acosta, who lives across the street on the L.A. side. \u201cNo one ever sent notification to me that they were going to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n Small fish and tadpoles can be found in the creek running through the proposed project site near San Pascual Park. <\/p>\n That\u2019s why Solis and other volunteers launched the group Save San Pascual Park.<\/p>\n With the help of social media and local organizing, they built a movement and collected signatures. The group has accused Pasadena and South Pasadena of using the project to steal water and land from L.A. and say it’s a case of environmental injustice. <\/p>\n The all-volunteer group Save San Pascual Park has been posting signs at the San Pascual site. <\/p>\n In late May, the group successfully urged L.A. City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents the area, to formally oppose the project. The L.A. City Council sent her resolution <\/a>back to committee.<\/p>\n L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis and state Sen. Mar\u00eda Elena Durazo had more success \u2014 they both sent letters requesting Pasadena extend public comment, which the city granted for 30 days. <\/p>\n How to weigh in on the Arroyo Seco Water Reuse project<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783340289_304_.jpeg\")
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