We spend a lot of time here at LA’s Watershed Protection Program talking about the importance of everyone doing their part to keep Los Angeles’ rivers, creeks, lakes and beaches clean. We believe that it’s a team effort to improve the quality of life by creating safer, greener, healthier and more livable spaces for Angelenos. 

And, while we’re always excited to tell you about projects that will boost the quality of life for residents, we thought we’d take this opportunity to shine a spotlight on a few upcoming Safe Clean Water Program projects that will rehabilitate three of LA’s lakes and provide vitally important habitat for LA wildlife, specifically our feathered friends.

But first, a bit of history.

Back in the late 1800s, when LA was a young city, local leaders took three unsuitable plots of land and created lakes and parks for recreational use by residents. Westlake Park, which would later become MacArthur Park, was created in 1887. Eastlake Park and Hollenbeck Park followed in the 1890s. Eastlake Park would be renamed Lincoln Park in 1916. These three lakes, along with Echo Park Lake, formed a quartet of sparkling gems in LA’s crown of lakes that have been enjoyed by generations of Angelenos. Sadly, the wear and tear of LA life have taken a heavy toll on these lakes, their water quality and surrounding park areas. City leaders have long recognized that LA’s lakes and related park areas were in dire need of TLC but the scope and cost of the projects were beyond LA’s funding reach. Thanks to the Safe Clean Water Program, LA has a path forward.

With the Safe Clean Water Program, Los Angeles has entered an era of rehabilitation for these lakes. Echo Park Lake enjoyed a much-needed facelift compliments of Proposition O, often viewed as a precursor to the Safe Clean Water Program, back in 2016. The Echo Park Lake Rehabilitation Project removed settled sediment and trash from the lake, installed a trash capture device and added a wetlands feature to beautify the lake and create additional habitat for waterbirds. Proposition O also provided for the rehabilitation of Machado Lake located in the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, which may be found in the Harbor City area of LA. More than 300 separate species of migratory waterbirds call Machado Lake their home at different times throughout the year.

Now it’s MacArthur Lake’s turn. This project is currently in the pre-design phase with the environmental impact report poised to begin later this year. The rehabilitation of Lincoln Park Lake and its surrounding neighborhoods and Hollenbeck Lake will follow in the next few years.

All three of these future Safe Clean Water Program-funded lake rehabilitation projects will employ state-of-the-art nature-based technologies to improve water quality, mitigate localized flooding challenges, capture rainwater to offset potable water usage, create recreational and resiliency benefits for Angelenos and improve habitat for local water-dependent wildlife like ducks, heron, cormorants and egrets as well as migratory species like Canada geese. 

We encourage you to learn more about the City of Los Angeles’ Safe Clean Water Program as well as the many regional projects funded by the County of Los Angeles’ Safe Clean Water Program, which may be viewed at the County of Los Angeles SCWP Project Map.