Today the Board of Water and Power Commissioners will vote on switching up the plan for covering the Elysian Reservoir in Elysian Park and Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir in Bel Air. Some kind of cover-up to protect the drinking water has been in the works for years, but the LADWP plans to finally release environmental impact reports laying out the options this winter. Up to now, the proposed projects for both reservoirs were underground concrete structures to house or cover the water, with landscaping over top. The EIR would have also looked at two alternative projects: an aluminum structure over the reservoir with or without solar panels on top and a floating cover made of "a flexible membrane." But at the meeting today, the commissioners are considering a resolution that would make the aluminum cover the primary project and the floating cover an alternative, while ditching the underground concrete proposal. A letter from the DWP's COO and Senior Assistant General Manager (link goes to a pdf) recommending the switch says that "the recession requires that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reexamine all spending to cut as much as possible to keep water rates as low as possible," and that the change in plans will save from $115 million to $190 million. The Eastsider LA reports that Elysian Park-area residents, who had been promised buried concrete and new park land, are not happy. The Ivanhoe reservoir, meanwhile, has been covered in bird balls for nearly two years.
· Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir Water Quality Improvement Project [LADWP
· Elysian Reservoir Water Quality Improvement Project [LADWP]
· Elysian Park reservoir cover up [Eastsider LA]
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