FALL 2021
N E W S
RESERVOIR NEWS
IVANHOE RESERVOIR TO BE EMPTY THROUGH MID-2023
Our two reservoirs will be in very different places for the next year and a half. The larger Silver Lake Reservoir is set to be refilled to its historic level of 440 feet above sea level as early as December 2021. It has been losing water to evaporation since being completely refilled in 2017. The water will come from the Pollock Wells near the LA River, which is not part of LADWP’s potable water system.
The smaller Ivanhoe Reservoir, on the other hand, will be at low levels as work continues on the new recirculation and aeration system. Phase One installed air compressors to increase oxygen levels in both reservoirs and facilitate mixing of the water overall. In Phase Two, LADWP crews will install recirculation pumps at an existing vault near Ivanhoe to further blend the water and prevent stagnation. That phase will require complete draining of Ivanhoe, which will take place early next year.
Completion of the entire project, including the refilling of the Ivanhoe Reservoir, is expected by the summer of 2023.
– Cyndi Hubach
SILVER LAKE IS CLEANING UP!
TOM LaBONGE EVENT TO CAP OFF MONTH–LONG SILVER LAKE SPRUCE UP
Tom LaBonge always said, “enjoy and love Los Angeles,” and there’s a great opportunity to do just that – and honor Tom – coming up Saturday, October 9th. The beloved former city councilmember would have turned 68 in October, and to mark the occasion his friends in neighboring CD13 have organized a “Tom LaBonge Day of Service” to clean up an area near the Silver Lake meadow.
The event will be held along the outer walking path starting at Armstrong Avenue and heading south. “The area falls into a jurisdictional gray area and has suffered from some neglect over the years,” said longtime field rep Mary Rodriguez. She once served under LaBonge in CD4 and thought this would be the perfect tribute to him.
The path will be closed Monday and Tuesday, September 27th and 28th, as LADWP crews clean up and clear away some of the larger dead and overgrown foliage. LA’s Rec and Parks will also be repairing some long-dormant irrigation lines.
On October 9th, volunteers will spread mulch and do some light pruning – and share memories of Tom. “No one loved Silver Lake more than Tom,” said Mary. “This will be a wonderful way to remember him.”
Meet at the northern entrance to the meadow near Silver Lake & Armstrong. Tools and refreshments will be provided, but bring a hat and work gloves if you have them.
Saturday, October 9th, 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Please RSVP to attend.
LADWP RESERVOIR-WIDE BRUSH CLEARANCE
LADWP has been doing its own tidying around the reservoir, starting with the cleanup of dead and dying branches in the eucalyptus grove last month. Large branches had fallen in several places around the grove, creating an eyesore and potential fire hazard. “We get to these as quickly as we can,” said the crew supervisor. “DWP has many properties, and we are constantly on the move.”
Crews have also been removing dry grass and undergrowth all around the reservoir property, including the large field behind the Mallard Grove (what’s that? see below). The area had been planted with trees, shrubs, and exotic grasses, but only the trees remain. LADWP’s Metro Property Manager Helen Olivares tells us that the area will be replanted with natives this coming fall. “We have plans to replant and the palette will definitely have natives. We’re more pollinator-conscious now so at every opportunity we have, we incorporate pollinator-friendly natives.” That’s great news from the LADWP, and gets a big thumbs up from us!
SLRC TACKLES IVANHOE PATH WEEDS
SLRC kicked off the cleanup extravaganza with a big “weed-and-sweep” on the Ivanhoe path on August 28th.
About a dozen people turned out, including CD4’s new local field rep, Helene Rotolo (see Q&A below) and longtime former rep Rachel Fox – both showing off some serious weeding skills! Rachel has stayed on with Nithya’s team and is now the Deputy District Director.
The event was inspired by recent Silver Lake transplant Victoria Jesionek’s post on Nextdoor: “Path on NW corner of Reservoir Needs some love,” she noted on the neighborhood site. Victoria stopped by as the team was finishing up. “It’s amazing how much people can achieve when they work together.” We couldn’t agree more!
SLRC is also resuming regular cleanup and maintenance days in the meadow on the last Saturday of the month. Join us for the next one, Saturday, September 25th at 9 a.m.
If there’s an area around the reservoir you think could use some community TLC, drop us a note at info@silverlakereservoirs.org.
Silver Lake Master Plan UPDATE
The next major step in the Silver Lake Reservoirs Master Plan process is officially underway. A contract with ESA (Environmental Science Associates) to perform the crucial Environmental Impact Report was recently finalized and preliminary meetings are in the works. The employee-owned, San Francisco-based firm has led high-profile projects in Los Angeles such as the Ballona Wetlands Restoration project. The work will continue to be overseen by landscape architects, Hargreaves-Jones.
Meetings with the five community organizations that comprise the Stakeholder Working Group (including SLRC) are set to begin in October. Topics will include an overview of the EIR process, opportunities for stakeholder input, as well as the larger public meeting schedule and process framework. So get ready, Silver Lake, for the next phase in planning the future of our beautiful reservoirs!
CITY SCENE
MEET CD4’S NEW SILVER LAKE FIELD REP, HELENE ROTOLO!
Helene took over the job in June of this year but is quickly settling in and making her mark. We thought it would be fun to get to know her a little better.
What brought you to Los Angeles?
In 2015, I was working as a sales and marketing manager for a beverage company that had a robust social enterprise side. They had partnered with indigenous leaders in Ecuador to promote economic development and agroforestry, and after visiting our non-profit operations there, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in public service. I left my job in early 2016 and enrolled at Cal State Long Beach to pursue a master’s degree in Public Administration. I began working with the city first as an intern with Mayor Garcetti, then with the City’s Homeless Coordinator. After finishing my degree in 2017, I continued to work for the City’s Homeless Coordinator as a Project Manager for the A Bridge Home program. I was drawn to work for Councilmember Raman because of her services-led approach to ending the homelessness crisis, as well as her dedication to making Los Angeles a city that works for all of its residents.
What other neighborhoods are you working with, and how does Silver Lake stand out?
I am the Field Deputy for Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Griffith Park and the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council area, which generally encompasses the Hollywood Dell, Lake Hollywood, Hollywood Land and Beachwood Canyon. I think all of the residents I work with have serious concerns over the impact of climate change and the risk of an extended fire season. Each of these communities feel like small towns with unique characteristics and needs, which is what keeps the work fun!
What does your office see as the top issues concerning Silver Lake and the reservoir?
Our Office is thrilled the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan EIR kicked off earlier this month and we look forward to working with the community to ensure the concerns of Silver Lake residents and stakeholders are addressed throughout that process.
What makes you so passionate about this work?
To me, every day presents an opportunity to make a positive impact - whether it’s by pulling weeds with your neighbors, dropping off groceries at your community fridge, or putting in a 311 request for graffiti removal. There is so much uncertainty in the world, but the role of local government should be in making people's lives better. By working to ensure our city is equitable and a place that works to meet all of our residents' needs, I am able to maintain my optimism for what the future holds for Los Angeles.
THE WILD LIFE
GOOD NEWS FOR SILVER LAKE BIRDS OF PREY
With all of the bad news about nature and the environment, it’s nice to have something positive to report: LA’s birds of prey are on the rise! Our most common raptor species are red-tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, red-shouldered hawks and great horned owls, and all had fairly successful breeding years in 2021.
The news comes from the fifth annual Friends of Griffith Park Los Angeles Raptor Study. Each year, from January through July, dozens of volunteers armed with binoculars and field notebooks fan out from the 405 to East LA and Burbank to Baldwin Hills to search for and monitor raptor nests around the city.
In our area (which includes Silver Lake, Echo Park and Elysian Park), 54 nests were monitored, compared with just 24 last year. Red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks are our most common species, with red-shouldered hawks and owls coming in a distant third and fourth. Exact reproduction numbers are not available, but nest success was put at an impressive 87%.
Despite the good news, there is room for improvement, and a lot we can do to help. Several nests were lost due to excess pruning, or even removal, of their home trees. Homeowners are reminded to limit pruning to non-nesting months from September to early January. (And still check before you chop - disturbing raptor nests is illegal in California).
Researchers also suspect the deaths of several adult and fledgling raptors were due to ingestion of rodenticide from poisoned rats. If you have a rodent problem, insist on traps to control them instead of poison. One adult hawk or owl can eat up to 1,000 rodents in a year. Losing them destroys the natural balance that can keep our rodent populations in check. So skip the poison – your local red-tail will thank you!
Click here for more information about the study and how you can get involved in next year’s count!
– Cyndi Hubach
Juvenile Cooper’s hawk on Kenilworth Ave., December 2020. Photo credit Cyndi Hubach.
BLOOMING NOW
NATIVE CHERRIES AND WALNUTS
As summer draws to a close, you’re likely to find our native trees along Silver Lake Boulevard laden with fruit! The hollyleaf cherry, Prunus ilicifolia, has been hosting swallowtail butterfly caterpillars all summer, and is now full of slightly bitter, slightly sweet red cherries. Walnuts are falling too, and you’ll see squirrels eating them on the spot or hiding them away in their winter stores. (They’re edible to us too, but harvest only if you have planted the tree yourself. Picking cherries, walnuts or any fruit from wild native plants is illegal in California.)
Hollyleaf cherry is a beautiful, evergreen shrub or small tree, growing quickly and easily throughout Silver Lake, from sunny to even deeply shaded areas. It makes a great hedge plant, and provides wonderful treats for birds and other local wildlife. Not picky about soil type, this plant is happy to grow wherever we put it and, once established, needs very little additional water. It has well-behaved roots, and won’t mind if we need to prune it occasionally. It doesn’t have big fancy spring flowers like other cherries – instead it has dainty white bottlebrush-like springtime plumes.
Like many of its Prunus relatives, the large pit is wrapped with an arsenic-laden husk (another reason to leave them be!). The fleshy, edible fruit is but a thin layer around a big pit and is bitter until fully ripe, when it becomes sweet.
The California black walnut, Juglans californica, is one of our most endangered local tree species. Native only to Southern California, these lovely trees can be found growing wild in nearby canyons, lighting up the landscape with their brilliant yellow fall leaves, bare during our short winter, and bright green again in spring. Its nuts are an important food source for many native birds and small mammals.
These walnuts and cherries may have been part of, or descended from, the forest that surrounded Silver Lake before it was a reservoir, when it was just a seasonal lake filled by the winter rains and draining into the fertile river flood plain below. We are fortunate to have these wild, native trees in our urban landscape where they continue to sustain us all.
– Stephanie Bartron, FAPLD
RESERVOIR DOGS
khasa & amir
Amir is a 140-pound Black Russian Terrier. He and his person, Khasa Khan, like to explore neighborhoods all over the city, but the reservoir is one of their favorite spots.
How did Amir get his name?
Amir is a Persian word meaning “commander.” The breed was developed by the Russian military around World War Two, so it seemed fitting somehow – he’s pretty “commanding” looking. Even though he’s called a terrier, the breed is really a combination of a bunch of breeds like Airedale, Giant Schnauzer and Rottweiler.
What’s his strangest habit?
I guess the strangest thing he does is lie down in front of other dogs. He’s big, but he’s only two-and-a-half and still doesn’t really know how to control his body. So, he just gets instantly submissive.
Do people ever tell you that you look alike?
I didn’t really think about that when I got him, but I guess we do a little bit. And yes, I hear it all the time!
You might have noticed a little pocket park tucked along Tesla Avenue as you’ve strolled around the reservoir. Known by some as “The Mallard Grove,” it has an interesting history – some recent, some a little more distant.
The park itself was developed just about ten years ago during construction of the Tesla sidewalk (remember when there was no sidewalk?). The SLRC worked with the LADWP, persuading them to carve out the area with fencing and decomposed granite. We added the benches, and the planting areas were designed by our very own Stephanie Bartron (board member and garden designer), with an emphasis on native plants.
As you enjoy the black and white sages, you might notice the bronze plaque mounted on a large granite rock by the fence. That’s the more distant history.
Back in the 1980’s the neighborhood was rocked by news that the DWP, under new federal guidelines to protect open reservoirs, would need to cover-over or install major treatment facilities for all of its functioning reservoirs. At the time, Silver Lake provided drinking water to neighborhoods from downtown Los Angeles to Watts, and the DWP planned to cover the smaller Ivanhoe Reservoir and build a large, industrial style treatment plant for the large Silver Lake Reservoir near what is now the meadow. But the residents of Silver Lake fought back.
The district had become a mecca for mid-century architects, and many notable homes had sweeping views of the lake. With prominence came power. The Committee to Save Silver Lake Reservoirs (now the SLRC), was formed to preserve the open water and protect the beauty of the neighborhood.
As part of the strategy, then CD13 City Councilmember Mike Woo persuaded the Cultural Heritage Commission to designate the reservoirs as a Los Angeles City Historic Cultural Landmark. The designation offered protection against certain alterations to the site and the possibility of environmental review. The combined efforts saved the reservoirs, not just for well-to-do homeowners with hillside views, but for all residents and visitors to our unique community. A plaque commemorating the cultural designation was placed on the outflow tower at the south end of the reservoir, where it was largely forgotten.
Years passed, and few new residents or visitors were aware of the events that had saved our cherished open-water views. In 2018, SLRC got permission from the Cultural Heritage Commission to purchase a second plaque, which was recently placed where you see it now in the Mallard Grove.
So, next time you stop in the pocket park, take a moment to reflect on the ways that our very own Silver Lake reservoirs are an important part of our city’s rich history.
– Marilyn Tower Oliver
C A L E N D A R
If you have a story idea or there’s something you’d like us to look into, please drop us a note at info@silverlakereservoirs.org.
C R E D I T S
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Cyndi Hubach
Newsletter Cover Photo
by Amanda Schumaker, IG handle: @amanda_schumacher_, website: amandaschumachermedia.com
NEWSLETTER LAYOUT
By Allie X Brooker e: alliex@icloud.com webpages: Spark // Camp Glen Green, Allie Bakes
email us: info@silverlakereservoirs.org
Please subscribe to our mailing list
Submit your email to receive periodic updates on news, events, volunteer opportunities, and more around the Silver Lake Reservoirs.