Wetlands in South Los Angeles

South Los Angeles is home to one wetland and is poised for another. In May, which is American Wetlands Month, the city will break ground on the second — the South Los Angeles Wetland Park at 5413 S. Avalon Boulevard.

In addition to the groundbreaking, the event will include a community open house where residents will have the opportunity to view renderings of the proposed project.

Long regarded as wastelands, some say that wetlands serve a major function in maintaining ecosystems, serving as transitional zones between upland areas and lakes, rivers and streams. They are defined by the federal government as "areas ... inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support ... a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."

And according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, wetlands also recharge water supplies, help clean water, and lower flood risks.

It has taken more than four years for the proposed 9-acre South Los Angeles Wetland Park to become a reality — including extensive negotiations with Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to acquire the property, and a series of actions by the City Council regarding the use of the land, including an Environmental Impact Report, a general plan amendment, and the creation of a supplemental use district (SUD).

The park is being funded with $19 million in proceeds from bond issues.

"Right now it's an old MTA bus yard, but it's going to look dramatically different," said Eva Kandarpa, communications director for the office of 9th District Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry, who spearheaded the project. "Also, we want to show them (the residents) what the other wetland (at Slauson and Compton avenues) looks like and what we were able to create, so they can get a feeling for what it will look like."

Located in what is described as a "park-poor area," the newest wetland park is expected to provide residents with a "green haven" adorned with native trees, shrubs, plants, a small lake, a community center, and other features. Nestled in the middle of a residential community with two schools — Dorothy Johnson High School and the Los Angeles Academy Middle School — the park will also include signage describing various plants and wildlife that will serve as an outdoor classroom.

"We're taking an underutilized site and turning it into a natural habitat park — it will help to clean the air in terms of remediating the contamination of the soil for that area," said Perry, who added that putting two wetland projects in South Los Angeles has been a major achievement. "It will catch urban runoff and it will attract more wildlife in the area."

In 2006, the first wetland feature was unveiled at the Augustus Hawkins Nature Park, located at 5790 Compton Ave., near the intersection of Slauson and Compton avenues. The 8 1/2-acre former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pipe-yard was the first of its kind to be developed in a highly urbanized setting, according to Perry's office.

"(It's) ... a great place to walk around and see nature up close," said Perry, adding that she has seen geese, herons, egrets, parrots, butterflies and dragonflies during her visits to the park. "Most people who go there are very delighted. They find it very relaxing, very restful."

The new park is scheduled to be completed by late 2011-early 2012.

Chico C. Norwood is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.

Renderings Courtesy of PSOMA