TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager to approve amendments for three separate Memoranda of Understanding with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority for the Watershed Management Programs for the Lower Los Angeles River, Los Cerritos Channel, and Lower San Gabriel River Watersheds. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
A majority of area within the City of Long Beach is situated in three watersheds, the Lower Los Angeles River Watershed, the Los Cerritos Channel Watershed and the Lower San Gabriel River Watershed. This results in the City’s storm drain system discharging into all three watersheds. The operation of this storm drain system is regulated through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit that is issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB). This Permit is renewed approximately every five years by the CRWQCB, with each subsequent permit becoming more stringent and costly to implement.
The current permits for the City of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Region, require Long Beach, along with other participating cities located within the watersheds mentioned above, to implement and maintain plans for the WMP for each of the watersheds. The permits mandate stringent storm water quality regulatory requirements and the primary goal of the watershed groups is to reduce the overall cost of compliance through a multi-agency cooperative effort, rather than each city addressing these mandated regulatory requirements separately at a much greater cost. These WMPs provide a comprehensive analysis of pollutant sources within the watershed areas, strategies for reducing or treating pollutants from those sources, and computer modeling to substantiate the strategies.
On March 11, 2014, City Council authorized the City Manager to approve three separate MOUs with the Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional Water Management Joint Powers Authority (GWMA) to...
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