PICO RIVERA, California -- LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have two public meetings in January to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Study.
The meetings are scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Rivera Park Auditorium, 9530 Shade Lane, Pico Rivera, and from 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works headquarters, 900 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra.
Corps representatives will be available during the meetings to provide information about the study and Draft EIS, as well as to receive public comments. The Draft EIS was completed in December and can be found at https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/8999. The appendices to the Draft EIS can be found at https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p16021coll7/id/9001.
The Corps is proposing risk-management plans to reduce the potential for and consequences of catastrophic flooding resulting from failure of the Whittier Narrows Dam during very rare flood events. These risk-management plans include structural modifications to the dam to eliminate or minimize the potential for the dam to fail as a result of overtopping or seepage.
The Draft EIS describes the various risk-management plans and evaluates their impacts. Implementation of the recommended risk-management plan would mitigate the risk and allow the dam to safely function as it was originally intended and authorized.
The study area includes highly urbanized locations downstream of Whittier Narrows Dam, primarily between the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. Potentially affected cities include Artesia, Bell Gardens, Bellflower, Carson, Cerritos, Commerce, Compton, Cypress, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, La Palma, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Montebello, Norwalk, Paramount, Pico Rivera, Rossmoor, Santa Fe Springs, Seal Beach, South Gate and Whittier.
Features of the proposed project include hardening the crest and downstream slope of the dam with roller-compacted concrete and improving the seepage control system, by providing a trench drain along the downstream toe.
The public comment period is open from now to Jan. 28, 2019. Comments may be submitted by email to Whittier_Narrows_DSMS@usace.army.mil or mailed to Deborah Lamb, environmental manager, USACE-SPL-PDR-L, 915 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90017-3401.
For more information about the study, call Lamb at (213) 452-3798 or email Deborah.L.Lamb@usace.army.mil; or call George Sunny at (213) 452-3827 or email George.P.Sunny@usace.army.mil.
For media queries, contact the Los Angeles District Public Affairs office at (213) 452-3920 or (213) 452-3925 or email PublicAffairs.SPL@usace.army.mil.