Los Angeles River 2012 State of the Watershed Report

The Los Angeles Watershed is a dynamic system that is undergoing constant change and a regular, reoccurring program of monitoring allows us to better understand and respond to changes. The Los Angeles River Watershed Monitoring Program (LARWMP), which is the basis for this report, is a collaborative effort to assess the health of the Los Angeles Watershed from a regional perspective. The Cities of Los Angeles and Burbank and their partners envision a healthy, sustainable Los Angeles River Watershed that meets the water quality, water supply, flood management, recreational and habitat needs of its human and biological communities. With 1,400 miles of streams from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, the Los Angeles River Watershed supports a population of more than 4.5 million people and countless plants and animals. We need to understand the watershed's overall health and the major stressors in order to ensure sustainability and resilience of this region. The intent of this and subsequent reports is to describe current conditions and trends of the Los Angeles River Watershed through addressing the following five questions: 1. What is the condition of streams in the watershed? 2. Are conditions at areas of unique interest getting better or worse? 3. Are receiving waters near discharges meeting water quality objectives? 4. Is it safe to swim? 5. Are locally caught fish safe to eat? This is the first time the watershed has been comprehensively assessed using multiple indicators. The results presented in this report will assist watershed managers and other interested persons to identify areas of concern and to prioritize management actions. The detailed assessments, methods and quality assurance for this program can be found in the individual Los Angeles River Watershed Monitoring Program annual reports from 2008 through 2012. The LARWMP monitoring efforts will continue in future years and the State of the Watershed report will be issued periodically to reflect new data and findings.