Chapter 1: Introduction

1.5 How This Plan Was Developed

Men and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men.

—Franklin Delano Roosevelt

In 2005, The River Project (TRP) received a grant from the state’s CalFed Bay-Delta Program to develop a Watershed Management Plan for the Tujunga/Pacoima Watershed. TRP assembled a Project Team of specialists in the various watershed disciplines and brought together representatives from federal, state, and local government agencies committed to working cooperatively to guide the Plan development. A public outreach effort was launched to engage participation from local elected officials, neighborhood councils, community groups, and interested residents.

This diverse group of stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors began meeting in April of 2005 to collaboratively develop a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable plan of action for managing water resources that is both integrated with urban development and based on the watershed ecosystem. A Stakeholder Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Committee were established to inform and guide the Plan development. Their mission was to achieve consensus on outlining actions, programs and projects to improve the healthy functioning of the watershed, and provide a set of principles to guide future project and management efforts.

Through this consensus process, a diverse range of Goals and Objectives were identified (and are included in Chapter 3). Three basic premises underlie these desired outcomes:

• Water is a valuable asset.
• The watershed must be the primary basis for urban planning and design.
• Green infrastructure is cost efficient, multipurpose, and fosters community identity.

Ongoing outreach and education, special workshops, and development of a K–12 curriculum supported continued community involvement throughout the process. Input and feedback were collected at Stakeholder meetings, which were usually held once a month.

The Project Team produced a demographics report of the watershed, worked with stakeholders to gather and review the available data on the physical, biological, social and economic variables that characterize the watershed, and compiled the data in a geographic information systems (GIS) format Inventory. Project Team engineers worked with the Technical Advisory Committee to select a suite of appropriate numeric models that could be used to analyze current conditions as well as past and potential future conditions.

Using the data and models, a Watershed Assessment (summarized in Chapter 2) was developed to define the current condition of the watershed. This was then compared to the desired condition as described by the Goals & Objectives in order to determine relative health. The 217-page report identified specific system stressors, described various opportunities and constraints, and made recommendations for management actions and policies to improve ecosystem function (see Appendix 8).

TRP then organized a public education series called Watershed-U Tujunga. It was a crash course on our watershed that took place one evening a week for six weeks that got over 100 local community leaders involved and inspired. A k–12 curricula was created to support student learning of the Tujunga/Pacoima Watershed using the watershed as a context for project-based, hands-on learning. In the elementary level, each grade has a specific “theme” so that as students move up through each grade level they build on their knowledge of their watershed. Each grade level theme is designed to teach specific California State content standards. The secondary level includes a set of activities and worksheets designed specifically for groups of youth. As a part of the program they explore their part of the watershed; work as a team to observe and map their community; and use their own ideas and voice to carry out a project while finding others in the community to help (refer to Appendix 13)

The Project Team spent several months meeting with stakeholders at all levels to identify over 200 potential projects that could move us toward a healthier balance. Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and residents all contributed project ideas. The Land Use committees of the Neighborhood Councils were particularly engaged in the process (refer to Appendix 10).

The Technical Advisory Committee worked with stakeholders to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to help rank and prioritize the projects. A Geographic Information System analyzed criteria such as infiltration potential; park needs; distance from nearest park, trail or storm drain; habitat connectivity; and special districts. These tools helped stakeholders to quantify potential project benefits and identify their capacity to serve as green infrastructure for water supply recharge, water quality improvement, and flood management.

Using this information, stakeholders selected twenty-four neighborhood-scale and thirteen watershed-scale projects that represent the Project Scenario presented in Chapter 4 this Plan. Collectively, this holistic scenario represents many of the best opportunities to improve watershed health and create a more sustainable future. The Project Team used modeling to quantify the estimated cumulative water supply benefits of implementing the Project Scenario (Chapter 5). Stakeholders also proposed a range of studies that could be undertaken to develop a stronger knowledge base about watershed issues, and numerous programs designed to benefit watershed health (Chapter 6). Stakeholders also made specific policy policy recommendations on issues that need to be addressed in order to facilitate watershed management (Chapter 7), and outlined a range of actions that individuals and entities can take to cooperatively facilitate Plan implementation (Chapter 8).