Corralitas Red Car Property: Mudwatch, Rainfall Totals

Video: Red Car Property Neighbor, January 20, 2017, 11:20 AM.  After the second of three storms dumped 1.5" of rain on the Red Car Property, this morning alone, Lake Corralitas was overflowing its banks and heading toward the LA River via the Corralitas Drive storm drain (the inlet is about 150' down the street from here).  

The Corralitas Red Car Property serves as a natural catch basin for the stormwater runoff from the very steep slopes rising hundreds of feet to the top of Silver Ridge Ave.  The rain also collects in Red Car Canyon and flows both north (toward Riverside Place and India Street)  and south (toward Corralitas Drive)

In the video, you can catch a glimpse of the predictable mudslides on the Red Car Property portion of the slope, particularly noticeable since LAFD brush contractors took out trees six months after the Silver Lake Fire. 

We're tracking rainfall totals in the Corralitas Drive rain gauge:
January 20, 2017: 1.7"
Rain year to date: 15.35"

Storm #3 hitting Sunday, is supposed to be the largest of the three this week.  Batten down the hatches!

Red Car Creek: Flowing From The Red Car Property To Riverside Drive

Photos: Jonathan Vandiveer, January 5, 2016, all before 10:15 AM.  Red Car Creek flowed north from runoff of the hills above (Lake View and Silver Ridge) toward India Street.  "The heavy rain had stopped about 15 minutes before I took these pictures, just some light rain at the moment," Vandiveer wrote in an email.  "Not as dramatic as it could have been."

If you think there is not a lot of water in the next few photos, skip down to the last one -  Riverside Drive at Allesandro Elementary School.

From the Red Car Property, the stormwater flows from the Red Car Property onto India Street.

India Street is lucky to have sidewalks on both sides of the street, as it is much steeper than it photographs.  India Street is only a block long, east of the Red Car Property, where it ends at Riverside Terrace.  There are no storm drains on India or Riverside Terrace.

From Glen Eden the stormwater continues downhill taking a quick left from Riverside Terrace onto Glen Eden.  Glen Eden is a very steep street that is the only way to reach not only a large number of homes in the neighborhood, it is also the only way to drive into both parking lots at Allesandro Elementary School.

Every time it rains, water and mud collect at Riverside Drive and Glen Eden.  The storm drains are not well placed for moving the water off the street.  The mud usually doesn't get cleaned up quickly either, creating a dangerous situation when cars try to drive up hill even once the rain stops.  

If you see blocked stormdrains, call 311.  According to the mayor, in a press conference today, they will be answering 24/7 this week, for storm drain emergencies, if you listen to the prompts.  You can also try this link on the City's website.

It's going to be a long El Niño year.  Send us your rain related photos from the Red Car Property neighborhood: redcarproperty@gmail.com
 

Red Car Property: Predictable Mudslides, Stormdrains & El Niño Preparedness

Photo: Diane Edwardson, February 2005.  Whenever we have big rain years, the Red Car Property slopes at the Corralitas end, have mudslides where earth was removed to build the 2 Freeway (1960 - 1962).

Photo: Diane Edwardson, December 21, 2010.  The Red Car Property goes up to the power lines.  The Red Car Property "meadow" is also a handy catch basin for  stormwater run-off.  Additionally,  stormdrains run down the side of the 2 Freeway, as well as through the Red Car Property, from the very steep hills going up to Lake View and Silver Ridge.  

Why we're not on anyone's radar for a stormwater management project must be because of the morass of City, County and CalTrans (State) stormdrains in the area not being together on one map.  (CalTrans is not exactly known for cooperating with other agencies or neighbors.)  We've talked about the Red Car Property's potential as a stormwater project to anyone who would listen for many years. 

A host of City departments are hosting an El Niño Town Hall TONIGHT:

City of LA El Niño Town Hall

Thursday, November 5, 2015 

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Glassell Senior Center 

3750 Verdugo Road 

Los Angeles, CA 90065

Regional El NiñoTown Hall, Thurs, Nov 5, 2015

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  India Street entrance to the Red Car Property is a perennial problem spot in even a normal rainy season, as nothing stops the mud from flowing onto India Street other than the vernal pools.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

From the Red Car Property,  water and mud flows down the deceptively steep India Street, takes a right at Riverside Terrace, left onto the steep street of Glen Eden, past the parking lot entrance to Allesandro Elementary School and out onto Riverside Drive. 

A host of City departments will host four Regional El Niño Town Halls to help residents prepare for the "Godzilla El Niño" by learning about their community's risks.  Thursday's meeting is the only meeting in out area.

City of LA El Niño Town Hall

Thursday, November 5, 2015 

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Glassell Senior Center 

3750 Verdugo Road 

Los Angeles, CA 90065 

Red Car Property: Vernal Pools, Mudwatch

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  With almost 3" of rain in this morning, most of the water ran off the hills and into the vernal pools of the Red Car Property, and then to the storm drains.  Despite all 3 Red Car Canyon Lakes filling up quickly, you could still walk easily around their shores.  This will not be the case once the rains come more frequently.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  Once north of the last lake, the wooded canyon area was quite walkable.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The midsection of the property had smaller puddles, except for the vernal pool draining into the  downslope neighbor's backyard.

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The Lot C vernal pool is going to be very difficult to navigate this winter since berm constructed years ago to discourage people from joyriding on the north end of the property traps the stormwater draining from the slope above (Adelbert).

Photo: Diane Edwardson, September 15, 2015.  The taller green weeds in the marsh in Lake Corralitas, at the south end of the Red Car Property, are beneficiaries of the inch of rain we had in one day in July.  

The slope above the Red Car Property meadow is extremely steep and drains directly onto the Red Car Property.  In big El Nino years,  most of the the meadow will be under ankle deep water. 

Riverside Place: Sinkhole At Silver Lake Ave Patched - Sort Of *Correction

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 18, 2014.  At some point, a pothole became a sinkhole at the large stormdrain at the corner of Riverside Place & Silver Lake Ave.  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Not only is this a very large storm drain, there's quite a bit of water on the street when you consider there are no lawns, no front yards to speak of, and we had bone-dry weather for 3 days.   

Photo: Diane Edwardson, November 18, 2014.  It is risky to walk across the street at this corner.   It's going to be dangerous to drive through in the rain, since the hole will fill with water and you won't be able to tell how deep it is.  From the looks of the surrounding pavement, it looks like it will only get worse. 

Word from a Riverside Place neighbor is the DWP fixed a broken water main just around the corner on Silver Lake Ave in 2009, that may have contributed to the decline of this sinkhole. 

Photo: Riverside Place Neighbor, November 18, 2014.  Around 4 PM yesterday, I submitted a photo to MyLA311, the City's service request app.  By 5:30 PM, a neighbor sent the above photo of a partially patched now barricaded pothole.  I've never seen such a quick response from the City.

(Enlarged from previous photo.)  At first I thought Bureau of Street Services had just put the safety marker up.  Closer examination reveals they did a an old minimal patch on the pothole, while leaving the degraded asphalt surrounding it, which should will only perpetuate the problem with each passing vehicle and every rain.

There are a number of elderly people who live within a few houses here - this is not exactly safe for anyone, let alone someone unstable on their feet.
  

Related stormdrain note: more than 10 years ago, Elysian Valley activist Rey Dominguez & I toured some international landscape architecture students through the area as part of an LA River design charette.  When we reached this stormdrain, one of the students from Japan stopped us & pointed out they had never seen stormdrains so large as ours in residential neighborhoods.  They took photos of this one in particular, blown away over the amount of storm runoff we must have warranting such large stormdrains.  (This one has since been obstructed by repaving.)  Yup, when it rains in Los Angeles - it pours - a lot.  Whatever the  BMPs (best management practices) are for stormwater runoff - triple it in this hillside neighborhood.

Red Car Property: Really Random History - City Sewer Lines Made Of Brick

Photo: Diane Edwardson, July 7, 2014.  I was shocked to see a 15' deep manhole on the Red Car Property lined in brick.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

It seemed to lead to either a sewer or storm drain.  A City contractor working on area sewer lines may have left it open & uncovered for days.  CD13 was able to get the manhole cover replaced after I discovered it open with no safety tape, flags, cones nor barriers.   

I cannot imagine how old this must be. since, surely the City would not allow brick sewers' continued use due to brick & mortar's extreme susceptibility to liquefaction during earthquakes.  I was wrong.  Check out (Silver Lake resident & public staircase advocate) Alissa Walker's story on the City's aging sewer infrastructure & the workers who keep it flowing: Gizmodo