LA Waterkeeper tackled some major legal challenges this year, and we could not have done it without our legal interns and their incredible work behind the scenes. From deep diving into the LA River Master Report, to helping enforce Clean Water Act requirements on its 50th anniversary year, to researching sewage spills throughout Los Angeles County, these law students contributed to the litigation work that makes our impact possible.

The Colorado River Compact was negotiated in 1922 with the goal of divvying up what seemed, at the time, like an abundant source of water that could support agricultural growth and widespread community development throughout the southwestern United States. A century later, the shortcomings of the compact are becoming increasingly clear, as discussed in our blog. Most significantly, the Colorado River is drying up under the same mega-drought that’s gripping California, further increasing pressure for Angelenos to reduce residential water demand and advocate for local water supplies to ensure an equitable and resilient water future for Los Angeles.

With LA Waterkeeper reaching a final resolution with the West Basin Municipal Water District to put the final nail in the coffin of its ill-conceived proposed ocean desalination project, it is important to reflect on how important this lawsuit was in promoting a more resilient and equitable water future for the region.

LA Waterkeeper Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act

The Emerald Necklace is a vision nearly 20 years in the making, a vision to create a 17-mile loop of parks and greenways connecting 10 cities and nearly 500,000 residents in the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel Rivers watershed of LA County’s San Gabriel Valley. LA Waterkeeper’s litigation helped make this vision become a reality.

LA Waterkeeper’s fight for stormwater cleanup in Los Angeles led all the way to the US Supreme Court.

The County of Los Angeles reached a settlement with LA Waterkeeper to invest $4 million in SEPs to address the #1 source of pollution to LA’s waters: urban and stormwater runoff. From this settlement, $2.8 million went to the Watts neighborhood’s 103rd Street Green Improvement Project, adding ecological features to the neighborhood’s main transportation artery, formerly known as “Charcoal Alley.”

More than three decades ago, a landmark lawsuit filed by LA Waterkeeper and Heal the Bay spurred the creation of the TMDL program, one of the biggest drivers of clean water projects in California. However, half of our waters are still considered impaired by pollution, and deregulation and lack of enforcement threaten to disempower this landmark piece of legislation. Our future depends on restoring, enforcing, and defending the Clean Water Act in the decades to come. How did we get to where we are, and how can we continue to push for better water quality for all of Los Angeles?

On August 11, Governor Newsom released a new water strategy for the state, warning that water supplies will shrink by 10% over the next twenty years due to climate change. While the plan has been met with mixed reaction, there is a lot to like, including its call to dramatically increase wastewater recycling, stormwater capture and reuse, groundwater remediation, and conservation. Now, we have until the end of the month to ensure the state budget includes sufficient funds to move these programs forward and ensure a resilient water future for California.

In a lawsuit filed by LA Waterkeeper and NRDC, LA County was required to pay $4 million for projects that reduce stormwater runoff and enhance the urban tree canopy. The funding was used by TreePeople to help people retrofit their homes with water filtration and stormwater-capture features, including drought-resistant plants and bioswales.

LA Waterkeeper’s successfully litigated using the Clean Water Act against a waste hauling and recycling facility in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles. The funding was used in part to fund the Bradley Plaza and Green Alley, a project led by Pacoima Beautiful that transformed a run-down alley into a greenway for residents to walk, bike and recreate.

One year after the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant released 12.5 million gallons of raw sewage, regulators have yet to levy penalties for the spill.

The LA River Master Plan could have set our LA River on a bold and innovative path. Instead, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved an antiquated Master Plan. What does that mean for the future of the river?

LA County is at a crossroads: do we want to double down on the concrete or a living, breathing river?