The Arroyo Seco - The "Dry Stream"

Total Size of Arroyo Seco: 24.9 mi

Location of Arroyo Seco: trail head starting at San Pasquale Stables- 221 San Pasquale Ave, South Pasadena, CA 91030

Hours: dawn to dusk

Length of Loop: 4.3 mi

The arroyo seco was once a river that flooded seasonally acting as a watershed inhabited by the native Tongva. A tributary of the Salinas river and the Los Angeles river, the arroyo seco was notorious for its dangerous floods that prohibited any permanent residency. As the Los Angeles population boomed in the late 1800s after the California gold rush, people migrating to the area began to seek settlement surrounding the water ways. This was majorly because of the abundant resources including food, water access, and nutrient rich soils good for farming making a better sustainable lifestyle. Those who established homes in the area fell victim to a series of devastating floods in the early 1900s, the first of which was in 1914. This flood destroyed 30 houses, 10 bridges and claimed the lives of 43 inhabitants. The mass destruction was what caused the demand of flood control for those who felt their lives were in danger and thus began the project design of the Devil's Gate Dam. The Devil's Gate Dam was the first dam to be build in Los Angeles and is one of the 14 dams along the Los Angeles waterways. In 1934 another devastating flood ran through Los Angeles that claimed the lives of 49 people, destroyed 168 homes and caused 400 other homes to be non-livable that caused yet another uproar from those living in the area. As the worst flood in the history of Los Angeles, the city decided to conduct a project that sought out to control all waterways in the area. This meant the channelization of all flowing water with the desire to shorten the width of the river as well as straighten it, giving it a defined path. The project, underway as of 1936, was halted by another disastrous flood in 1938 that ultimately caused the rush to finish channelization, which was finally completed in 1940.

The extensive aqueduct system that Los Angeles built, although successful in controling the floods, ultimately lead to the dramatic decline in water flow for all waterways in the surrounding areas. Many of the now stagnant streams used to be home to the Steel Headed Trout, a once abundant food source for the natives, but because of decline in amount of water passing through the area the still water limits the ability to support many organisms. The flood channel now acts as a catch system for the storm drains with little water and apparently as a food source for ducks as you walk up and down the arroyo.

 [ducks]

 [devil's gate dam]

 [testing water -- ended up being pointless because the bottom was cemented]

 [stagnant water]

 [stagnant water]

The flood channel, particularly during the winter when there is actually some water flowing through it, tends to catch many pollutants such as fertilizers and wastes that can be dangerous to animals feeding in it. There have been different restoration efforts throughout the arroyo, one of which includes improving the quality of the water because it is so low.

 [flood channel]

Another part of the restoration is reintroducing native species to the area south of the devil's gate dam. The progress of this project is evident as you walk along the trail, the flowers all in bloom and the trees and bushes growing quickly. They even installed a sprinkler system throughout the planted bushes, which could be concerning considering we're in a drought and these species are native to California and seem to require consistent watering, but none the less they were beautiful. 

 [penstemons]

 [California poppy]

 [the vines were everywhere]

[uprooted tree]

As a final portion of restoration efforts, I had always wondered what the giant casting pond's purpose was if it served one. Guess what, it does ! I learned that the pond was actually home to tadpoles of the Western Toad, an effort to restore the declining population because of loss of habitat. The tadpoles prefer still, warm and shallow water which is why the area is cemented, cement holds heat and there can't be any water movement if there's no water source.

Sources of Information:
[http://www.arroyoseco.org/History/ArroyoSecoFloodTimeline.pdf]
[http://cityofpasadena.net/PublicWorks/arroyo_culture_history_and_society/]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_(Los_Angeles_County)]
[http://metroprimaryresources.info/arroyo-seco-parkway-at-70-the-unusual-history-of-the-pasadena-freeway-california-cycleway-rare-traffic-plan-images/852/]

Get Involved: http://www.arroyoseco.org/volunteer.php