Previous Plan to Pump Treated Water Upstream Revived

By PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM

SANTA CLARITA — A plan contrived years ago to pump treated wastewater upstream to Canyon Country to replenish the dusty Santa Clara River bed didn’t hold water, literally.

Parts of the sandy riverbed are too porous and the grade of the river too steep to realize an ambitious vision to create a lake or running river in hopes of restoring the wetlands and changing a rather dull landscape.

So the city of Santa Clarita and several other agencies are looking at their options with the goal of enhancing the dry stretch of Southern California’s last wild river.

“There are sections that are porous, but the key is finding sections where it will work,” said David Peterson, a management analyst for the city. “What we want is to see what we can do as far as restoring the river.”

With the possibility of new federal funding, the city and the Army Corps of Engineers aren’t giving up on the plan hatched years ago, but stuck in limbo until last week.

U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Santa Clarita’s first mayor, earmarked $500,000 in the House Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study with the goal of bringing lush plant life to the river. The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the bill, which now faces Senate hearings.

“That $500,000 is designed to go on the next level, to see what kinds of things could be done along the river to improve the habitat and open recreational opportunities,” said Michael Murphy, the city’s lobbyist.

The corps conducted the Santa Clara River Reconnaissance Study about five years ago to determine ways to enhance the river habitat, investigate recreation options and improve flood control, Murphy said.

“One of the things they were looking at was is there potential to introduce water into the river further upstream,” Murphy said.

The riverbed changes instantly from vast expanse of brush-strewn sand on the east to lush green foliage on the west side, due entirely to two wastewater treatment facilities that pump treated water into the river at Bouquet Canyon Road and near Six Flags Magic Mountain. The Santa Clara flows from Acton to the Pacific.

“If you stand on the bridge at Bouquet Canyon Road and look to the west, it’s nice and green,” Peterson said. “On the east side, it’s dry as a bone and not horribly attractive in some places.

“This would be to seek to recreate wetlands in the riverbed, which would foster habitats, incorporate bike trails … business might want restaurants with outdoor seating.”

Among the original ideas was the use of inflatable rubber dams to create a lake, similar to a successful project in Tempe, Ariz., where a three-mile lake was created, Peterson said. But the move to try that in Santa Clarita was quickly scrapped for two reasons — the water would quickly drain and the river flows downhill so the barrier on the west end would have be as high as 35 feet, he said.

“If we wanted a one-mile lake, the downstream dam would have to be enormous,” he said.

If the federal funding remains in the version of the appropriations bill eventually signed by the president, the city would work with the county sanitation district that runs the treatment plant, the Army Corp., groundwater users downstream in Ventura County and the various regulatory agencies.

One question that will be addressed in the feasibility study is whether reintroducing water upstream would cause more environmental harm than good.

“Prettier isn’t always necessarily better,” Peterson said. “The feasibility study will examine, yeah, it’s great we re-establish wetlands, but what does that do the existing ecosystem.”

pat.aidem@dailynews.com

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