The Los Angeles City Council on Nov. 5 approved a $31,100,000 Measure W-funded MacArthur Park Lake stormwater capture project that council members said will capture and treat runoff from a roughly 200-acre drainage area and convert the park’s stagnant pool into a flow-through water feature. Councilmember Eunice Hernandez introduced the item and asked colleagues to support the project, which the Board of Public Works has found will deliver net benefits despite some unavoidable environmental impacts. The council recorded 15 ayes on the motion to approve the item.

Hernandez told the council the lake currently requires nearly 29,000,000 gallons a year of potable drinking water to keep full. The stormwater project will capture and treat polluted runoff within the surrounding watershed and use that water to maintain lake levels, she said, while improving water quality for the Ballona Creek watershed. Hernandez said the project will also add community benefits including a new water feature, educational signage, shade trees, improved pedestrian paths and a pedestrian bridge along an existing walkway.

Councilmember Kevin de León’s office and Los Angeles Sanitation (LA San) and the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) were thanked during the presentation; council records show the Board of Public Works concluded the project benefits outweigh unavoidable environmental effects. Councilmember Joe Buscaino (Padilla spoke in support during the discussion) expressed support for expanding stormwater capture in city parks.

The council’s approval sends the design and implementation plan forward; the project is funded through Measure W allocations identified by Councilmember Hernandez. The council did not specify a construction start date in the discussion, and the record provided at the meeting does not list a firm completion date. The item was presented during the council’s agenda item 16 and recorded in the meeting minutes and roll call.