Recreational beneficial uses analysis completed for L.A. River environmental flows study

SCCWRP and its partners have completed an assessment of the recreational beneficial uses provided by the Los Angeles River as part of an ongoing study evaluating the implications of diverting treated wastewater effluent and runoff from the river for water recycling purposes.

The study, completed in July and led by the Council for Watershed Health, found that walking, biking and art/photography are the most popular recreational activities linked to the river’s environmental flows. Kayaking also was studied along one reach of the river.

The findings will feed into a larger, two-year study evaluating how the ecological and recreational beneficial uses provided by the river’s flows will be impacted as land-based discharges to the river are reduced. The ecological beneficial uses component is still being assessed.

California wastewater treatment agencies have been filing petitions seeking regulatory approval to begin recycling more of the effluent that they’re currently discharging into the L.A. River and other urban streams. Stormwater management agencies also are capturing more land-based runoff, further reducing stream  flows.