SOUTH EL MONTE, Calif.--The Los Angeles District welcomed congressional leaders with the House Subcommittee on Water Re-sources and the Environment April 2 at the district’s Base Yard in South El Monte.
The committee, its staff and Los Angeles County Department of Public Works officials received a comprehensive briefing about the district’s management of the Los Angeles County Drainage Area flood control system, Whittier Narrows Dam and water conservation priorities for the Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, of 2024.
The committee is in the process of gathering information for developing and passing a WRDA later this year.
The Los Angeles County Drainage Area system has been successful because of the co-operation between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Los Angeles County.
The brief was followed by a tour of the Whittier Narrows Dam and Reservoir, which provided a first-hand look at water conservation efforts at the dam. Congressional representatives present during the presentation and tour included U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, 7th Congressional District of North Carolina and chairman of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee; U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano, 32nd Congressional District of California and ranking member of the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee; as well as other subcommittee members.
The briefing and tour were led by Justin Gay, district deputy engineer; Aaron Smith, senior dam safety adviser with the Corps’ Huntington District; George Sunny, project manager for Whittier Narrows Dam Safety Modification Project; and Jon Sweeten, engineer with the Reservoir Operations Center.
Whittier Narrows Dam is on the way to making significant project milestones with the award of the Integrated Design and Construction pre-construction services contract later this year. Following the presentation and tour of the dam, the Congressional representatives toured the Port of Los Angeles.