Administrative
Report
H.10., File # 23-5358 Meeting Date: 2/7/2023
To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: TED SEMAAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
TITLE
APPROVE THE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, CITY
OF EL SEGUNDO, CITY OF HAWTHORNE, CITY OF LAWNDALE, CITY OF MANHATTAN BEACH,
AND THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH FOR THE ALONDRA PARK MULTI-BENEFIT
STORMWATER CAPTURE PROJECT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Redondo Beach, in collaboration with the Beach Cities Watershed Management Group (Beach Cities Group) developed an Enhanced Watershed Management Program (EWMP) to comply with municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) NPDES Permit requirements. The City Council approved the first EWMP on June 16, 2015 and approved an updated EWMP on June 8, 2021. The Alondra Park Multi-Benefit Stormwater Capture Project (Alondra Park Project) is included in the updated EWMP as a regional compliance project in the Dominguez Channel Watershed.
The County of Los Angeles is the lead agency for the Alondra Park Project which has an estimated total project cost of $60,322,000. The County received grant funding from the Safe Clean Water (SCW) Program and Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant funding. Each party will receive water quality credits from the grant funding. Redondo Beach will receive 21% of the City’s compliance capture target for this watershed. The County has agreed to fund the remaining amount of the project.
Approval of the Agreement will allow the City to partner in the Alondra Park Project according to the terms and requirements outlined in the Agreement and allow the County to act as the lead agency to implement the project as described in the Beach Cities updated EWMP.
BACKGROUND
On November 8, 2012, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region (Board) adopted the 2012 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Order No. R4- 2012-0175, NPDES No. CAS004001 for discharges from the MS4 Permit. The City of Redondo Beach, in collaboration with the Cities of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Torrance, along with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) formed the Beach Cities Group to develop an EWMP to comply with the MS4 NPDES Permit requirements. The Beach Cities Group developed a joint EWMP to comply with requirements of the Permit, the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Bacteria TMDL, the Santa Monica Bay Toxics TMDL, and the Dominguez Channel Watershed TMDL. The Redondo Beach City Council approved the watershed-wide EWMP on June 16, 2015 and approved the updated EWMP on June 8, 2021. The Beach Cities Group’s updated EWMP hasn’t been officially approved by the Board yet, however, they have issued a “deemed compliance” letter to cover the
H.10., File # 23-5358 Meeting Date: 2/7/2023
period until the formal approval is issued.
The updated EWMP identifies strategies and Best Management Practices that, when implemented individually by jurisdictions, or collectively at a watershed scale, will address water quality concerns.
Regional projects such as the Alondra Park Project are centralized projects located near the downstream ends of large drainage areas and receive large volumes of runoff from the upstream tributary area that typically occupies multiple jurisdictions. Runoff is typically diverted to regional projects after it has entered the storm drain system and is routed to public parcels for infiltration. This is in contrast to local or distributed projects, which tend to treat surface runoff closer to its source.
The updated EWMP assessed the current status of the watershed’s implemented projects and programs, and evaluated the need to make adjustments based on meeting targeted water quality reductions. The most significant component of the EWMP is the development of watershed-wide regional projects with the goal of achieving the desired pollutant reduction levels primarily through the infiltration of large amounts of stormwater. The updated EWMP results identified new, multi-benefit regional EWMP projects that emphasize regional and distributed multi-benefit projects that seek to maximize community benefits and amplify other environmental objectives.
The regional Alondra Park Stormwater Capture Project is a multi-benefit stormwater project proposed at Alondra Park, a large park located in the unincorporated County area of EI Camino Village. The park is under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. The project has been strategically located in the 13.5-acre park space in the northwest corner of the site.
The Project provides the opportunity to capture dry weather flows and stormwater and improve water quality by diverting flows from LACFCD storm drains into underground storage galleries totaling 34- acre-feet in total capacity. The captured flows are proposed to be diverted from the galleries into an existing sewer system (to be used for recycled/reclaimed water) because infiltration is not feasible due to soil conditions. Bioswales with native plants will replace existing turf areas along adjacent sections of Manhattan Beach Boulevard, providing new habitat and a natural way to slow and treat stormwater and dry weather runoff. The parking lots will be reconstructed with permeable pavement and bioswales. New trees will be planted throughout the park to provide shade and bolster the performance of other green infrastructure.
The City of Redondo Beach accounts for approximately 1,068 acres (22%) of the tributary area to the Alondra Park Stormwater Capture Project. As a project partner, the City will receive credit towards compliance goals for a portion of the water quality benefits from the overall project, proportional to the drainage area. The County of Los Angeles is the lead agency for the Alondra Park Project, which has an estimated total project cost of $60,322,000. The County received a total of $32,101,061 in regional grant funding from the Safe Clean Water (SCW) Program and Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant funding. Each party will receive water quality credits from the regional grant funding. Redondo Beach will receive 4.41acre-feet (AF) of water quality capture credit. In addition, Redondo will contribute $500,000 of additional funding, from its local SCW allocation, for the project and will receive an additional 0.38 AF of credit for a total of 4.79 AF of credit to be used towards the City’s Dominguez Channel Watershed compliance targets. The City’s total Dominguez Channel Watershed target includes approximately 22.5 AF of capture; therefore, the Alondra Park Project will provide approximately 21% of the City’s estimated capture target for this watershed. The County has agreed to fund the remaining amount of the project. Approval of the Partnership Agreement will allow the City to partner in the Alondra Park Project according to the terms and requirements outlined in the Agreement and allow the County to act as the lead agency to implement the project outlined in the
H.10., File # 23-5358 Meeting Date: 2/7/2023
Beach Cities updated EWMP.
COORDINATION
This project has been coordinated by the Public Works Engineering Services Division and with the Beach Cities EWMP Group. The Partnership Agreement has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City will contribute $500,000 to the Alondra Park Project. The funding has been approved and is included in the FY 2022-23 CIP Budget as part of the EWMP Project #60150. The $500,000 of project funding is provided by the City’s Safe Clean Water Municipal Program monies.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
· Agmt -Partnership between the City of Redondo Beach, County of Los Angeles, and cities of El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale and Manhattan Beach for the Alondra Park Multi-Benefit Stormwater Capture Project