Silver Lake, drained of life. (updated)
The other night I was running around Silver Lake and it looked lower, but nowhere near the bottom. The Times said the lake is 45 feet deep.
Then last night I saw the bottom! I was shocked! No way the lake is that deep – it looks around 12 feet deep. (Probably the LADWP made up that depth to sound like they were doing more work.) Today I went over there to take some pictures, and many people stopped to chat with me, as people do when they watch something awful.
Silver Lake was built in 1907, and is actually 2 separate reservoirs, divided by a concrete barrier and a kind of waterfall from one to the other. The smaller one (which is mostly what you see in my photos from my window) even has a separate name: Ivanhoe Reservoir.
Silver Lake Reservoir, empty. Don’t miss this other-worldly snapshot! Click.
Ivanhoe Reservoir looks like it still has a lot of water in it. I saw one type of bird (photographed below) daintily tip over and dive, and stay under there, for a good minute. I thought they were grebes, but it wasn’t until I got home and was able to blow up the photo that I could see and identify the bird. They are Lesser Scaup and they live in bays usually, but sometimes in lakes, too. I’ve never seen one before. (When you click, you can also see a couple in the back of the photo, too.)
But the Silver Lake Reservoir side is empty, as of today. (The rather psychedelic reflections are just puddles or wet cement.) The picture at the bottom is of more Scaups, now standing or literally sitting on wet concrete, instead of floating on their lake. A woman running on the path stopped and cried, “Are those DUCKS still trying to get water out there? Oh my God. I hope they know to go to Echo Park.”
As we learned from my birdwatching guru, Dan Cooper, many birds have a territory of only a few hundred feet. So they may not know the way to Echo Park Lake. They may have spent their whole lives in and on Silver Lake. And now they have no food, and no water, and no shelter.
Curbed LA has some more photos of the drained lake from a different vantage point. (All my photos were taken peeking through a large chain-link fence.) They also have an earlier post showing the progress in good photos, and they asked the all-important question that I would have: Did they find anything in the bottom of the lake? One worker said, Nothing! There is also an interesting comment there at the end:
Why isn’t anyone angry about this? And why on earth should we believe the DWP??? They’ve lied to us about everything else–
For starters: how is it possible that in one of the cities oldest reservoirs (dating back to the 1920s) it is only now that the “hot sun” has caused a “chemical reaction” with the bromide beneath the water? Has there never been “hot sun” beating down on the reservoir in the last 80-90 years? Or have we been poisoned all along?
And while we’re on the subject of the reservoir, whatever happened to our museum fence? The one we paid for with our bond measure that Eric Garcetti got passed for us? Did the DWP simply pocket that money? Why has there been no discussion or explanation about that? Did they just roll the funds into the jogging path project? Don’t we deserve some kind of public accounting? [clip]
I have come to the conclusion that the DWP is the most corrupt political body in Los Angeles outside of LAUSD. There seems to be a press block out on this. Steve Lopez wrote maybe one column on the DWP during last summer’s black-outs. But no one ever takes the DWP to task. WHY WON’T SOMEBODY OUT THERE FIGHT FOR US?
Now, I don’t happen to have another blog called Grassy Knoll. No, really I don’t! (although I may have more than one pseudonym…) But you have read my own detailed investigations about the LADWP before, and they are sure no friend of the people, the environment, or the city.
Did they bother to consult with naturalists or biologists before they suddenly drained all the water that was previously available to all the wildlife and trees there? Did they look into organic solutions? Lesser Scaups feed on very small insects or vegetable matter in the water; in other words, they’re like catfish in a fish tank, and they CLEAN the water. (Think about those birds tonight: they sit in the middle of a lake, far from shore, so predators can’t reach them. Only, now they CAN.) And the commenter above is right: why did bromide suddenly become so high now, or so dangerous? Is it because the LADWP has been shutting down reservoirs, willy-nilly, all over the city, and wants an excuse to close this one, too?
The lamp post is only about 6′ tall, not a normal street lamp.
First of all, one of the reasons many Los Angelenos pretend LA doesn’t exist east of La Brea is because we don’t have an ocean here. We’re like, poor. Hot. All that bad stuff. Well, we have Silver Lake and Echo Park, and are quite happy with them. Or, were. But one thing that all of Los Angeles is poor in, is water. Do we suddenly have an abundance of water no one knows about, that LADWP has closed half of our reservoirs that could have been used for lawns or industrial purposes or fire protection?
Over 2 years ago the DWP came to a gp PROS meeting to talk about reservoirs being built in that big train track area near Elysian Park. They said at that time, and I was so surprised, that Silver Lake wasn’t being used for drinking water then. Now, who is telling the truth, the DWP now or the guys at our meeting?
Silver Lake is supposed to be cleaned and filled back up, but they are being very vague about when, or how much. And Ivanhoe Reservoir? Oh, they plan to get rid of the birds – as if suddenly the birds have become the problem, not the “poison” in the water- make up your mind, much?- and put a wooden cover on top. Won’t that look pretty. According to the Times:
Devices called “bird balls” — small, weighted orbs that float on the water to shield it from both the sun and from birds — are slated to be used at the Ivanhoe site for about four years, DWP officials said. They will be removed when a covered replacement reservoir is constructed near Griffith Park’s Travel Town area.
Two Lesser Scaups, male and female, created He them. In Ivanhoe, which still has real H20. Click to enlarge.
Who is the LADWP to destroy a cultural and environmental landmark, an asset in beauty and in resource, that’s over 100 years old? I want to be practical, I do, and think of a monetary reason of why it’s important, aside from the value of our precious water. But really, it’s extremely emotional, atavistic even, to be able to see and hear water. It’s as refreshing as a cold glass of water. I live about a mile away, and on a hot day I look at the water and I feel much better.
I blame this entire action on H. David Nahai, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of LADWP. Appointed by mv just recently, he was a lawyer, specializing in real estate, corporate, environmental and commercial law. You know, David, some of us don’t have swimming pools in our backyard. Or even sprinklers. Looking at the lake, close up or from a distance, is as good as it gets.
I read that cb had a meet and greet with Nahai recently. I wanna go to the next one.
Also scaups, on the empty floor of the reservoir. Click to see that they are literally trying to swim on wet concrete at the bottom of the lake.
UPDATE: I just noticed that in the pile of mail on my desk there is a postcard about another reservoir the DWP plans to cover: Elysian Reservoir, and a meeting was held today at Logan Street Elementary School. Blogdowntown has something to say about this:
I don’t personally care about creating a playground in the space where the water is now — I’d much prefer to see it remain water — but I think we can all agree that a tarp is no one’s idea of a good use for open space.
Why does the Department of Water and Power hate water so much?
Donna Barstow
Griffith Park is the 2nd biggest park in the US, and I'm just the person to investigate it! I've lived here for over 25 years. I was part of the PROS Committee in Griffith Park Neighborhood Council and am on the Housing & Tenants Rights Committee in the Silver Lake NC. I'm in the LA Press Club, and you can find some of my articles in the LA Weekly and the Los Feliz Ledger. I'm a cartoonist for Parade Magazine, The New Yorker, LA Times, Slate, & most major media. Questions and contacts welcome.
12 Comments
tcolberg
Before seeing your figure for the depth of the reservoir from the LATimes, I guessed it to be around 40′, based on the size of people and other objects on the opposite side in relation to the side walls.
It’s not often I get to see pictures of my house in pictures of Silver Lake as the West to East view seems to be far less scenic. To me, the west side is much more aesthetic with its seemingly random distribution of houses.
David
I was kinda hoping for old cars, dead bodies, and a few mysteries solved.
But like the lake, the results were not that deep. Nice pics!
Donna
Hi, David, thanks!
Yes, especially the dead bodies part. I know I read about a girl ghost on the lake somewhere, but her bones were not to be found, I guess…
tcolberg, interesting about which side of the lake has a better layout! I never thought of it like that – I just prefer running or visiting the west side because it’s much less traffic and a nice wide street. You could be right about the depth, but both the empty bottom pix were taken a few yards from each other. The silver overhanging light in the one photo is only about 7′ tall, and is within the fence. But I’d be interested to see how deep you think it is over there on the east side!
Candy
DB,
How awful to lose your beautiful little lake! I suspect this is really all about avoiding waste through evaporation, and that more and more, water conservation will be a huge economic issue. Still, covered reservoirs are fine when created that way and landscaped, etc, but when an entire neighborhood (and, as you point out, plenty of wildlife) have grown up around the open water, it seems criminal to drain it and leave a huge concrete eyesore. (And what did they do with the water they removed from the lake?) I’m surprised the skateboarders haven’t taken over the cement pond already.
I just looked up bromide in reservoirs–seems to be a growing problem in the west, whether from sea water intrusion, high-carbon vegetable matter + chlorine, or agricultural chemical runoff. Nobody seems to be sure how to fix it, but I can’t help but wonder whether fish wouldn’t help, if the problem is (seems most likely) the vegetation (algae, dead leaves, etc.) Bromide itself is apparently no big deal, but it reacts with other chemicals (chlorine–something way too much used anyway) to become something toxic.
I hope all you silver lakers will prevail.
Amber
Yeah, you would think that they would take into consideration all the wildlife that has made a home on that reservoir throughout the years. I used to live in the area, and when I drove by today, I was completely grief-stricken. Such a tragedy in my eyes. Let’s hope that our local government doesn’t turn out to be as corrupt as our national government and we keep our reservoir.
Donna
Thanks, Candy and Amber!
They did nothing with the water from the lake, Candy. It was a waste. Good point on the chlorine – you’re right, that’s the culprit right there. Care to hire out as a desperately needed consultant for the DWP?!
Actually, they did have fish at one time in there, I read. Probably the LADWP ate them all.
blogreader
Great blog. Have you heard the city is planning on turning the meadow around Silver Lake into a Los Angeles city public park? I was quite distraught at this news as it will displace the wild coyotes that roam the grassy meadows and the natural habitat of other wild animals that call Silver Lake home? It just breaks my heart….I don’t buy the argument that “we need more parks.” Why Silver Lake? Echo Park and Griffth Park are not far away. This appears to be an especially bad move because the city appears to have a shortage of funds to *maintain* the park…So while the idea of a pristine, neighborhood park is attractive, I fear that this will really result in a trashed meadow and the irrevocable destruction of the meadow. What are your thoughts?
Donna
Thank you!
Yes, I know about that meadow plan, but I haven’t written about it yet because I need more info.
Obviously you’re quite right, we don’t need more parks. Griffith Park is the second biggest city park in the country, and woefully underused all week long. I also believe that the walkway around Silver Lake is ALREADY used as a public park, with dogs, bikers, prams, runners, and benches surrounding a pretty body of water. That meets the definition of a park.
What we are lacking is open land, and that is what the city wants to steal from…the city.
LA girl
The bromides, parasite laden bird feces, settling car exhaust, and other contaminants have been a problem for a long time. But because of water demand, the lake could not be drained until the bypass pipe to the new tanks in Griffith Park became operational. In the meantime, the people of South Central have been exposed to the toxins while we in Silver Lake have been drinking nice clean water out of Lake Hollywood’s sanitary steel tanks for years. All because the reactionary snobs around the lake didn’t want a beautiful park like the one at Rowena – see http://www.silverlake.org/rowena_frmset.htm – we are stuck with the butt ugly cracked asphalt cesspool that still has to be covered if people will be drinking from it.
I’m glad it is empty. It serves the silly people right for turning down the visual park LADWP offered over a decade ago.
BTW, Why would the birds want to go to Echo Park, when the river is closer? Once they pluck all the critters out of the reservoir silt, they will go to other places to eat.
How was the “water available to … trees” when it was contained in concrete? The trees are irrigated separately.
How is an artificial concrete reservoir an “environmental landmark”?
Donna
Hi, LA Girl!
I would like to know more about the snobs who didn’t want something like Rowena, which as you say, is quite beautiful. I believe it’s because Los Feliz demanded it, and Silver Lake is too sheep-ish. Can you point me as to any more details as to why SL rejected any solutions? I talked to DWP about this, and they didn’t mention they had offered it before, but then I didn’t know to ask them that…
I don’t believe anyone or anything deserves no water, no.
There are no “critters in the reservoir silt”, or you would see seagulls and ducks and water birds in your front lawn. It’s not like they make a choice what to eat, or what habitat they need. There is no safety in the lowlying roughs of the river, either.
You are right, the trees are irrigated separately. However, both reservoirs are built on groundwater, which the bigger trees need, too. And some trees need the moisture in the air from the water.
How is an artificial brick and mortar building a landmark? We takes them where we can gets them in LA.
Heather
My beloved bird baths are empty. I live a few blocks from the Silverlake Reservoir and since it’s draining and ball filling my backyard birds have basically vanished. I’ve lived in the area since June of 1999 and during the Spring and Summer months I’ve always enjoyed daily visits from Robins, Orioles, Band-Tailed Pigeons, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Wild Parakeets, Ravens, Woodpeckers and even the occasional Hawk (Morning Doves and Sparrows have remained). The wonderful horn sounding squawks of ducks and geese flying over my home each morning and dusk have completely ceased. My heart is broken.
Donna Barstow
Love your comment, Heather, and included it in my post of July 3, called Now Playing: Silver Lake meadow will be split in two.