Belvedere Lake Floating Treatment Wetland

Green Space, Park Access, and Trees

East LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

AquaBio has had the pleasure over the past 15 years to steward and manage Belvedere Lake maintenance. Through our work we have a thorough understanding of the challenges facing an urban green space with an associated waterbody. The biggest issues Belvedere Lake faces are, pollution, excess nutrients from waterfowl, high fluctuating temperatures, and trash. AquaBio has mitigated these issues by using our products, expertise, and technologies on an ongoing basis. As well as serving the community at Belvedere Lake by creating a balanced ecosystem, AquaBio also sponsors and attends their annual fishing derbies. We believe the proposed project will have a significant social, as well as environmental impact to the lake, the surrounding green space, and community. We are dedicated to providing improved access to clean, green open spaces, involving the community in urban environments, and increasing equity in underserved communities.

AquaBio will be responsible for the planting, installation, and launching of 1x350 sqft. and 1x200 sqft Floating Treatment Wetland (FTW). FTWs are islands of buoyant artificial mats containing native plants including a native Sycamore tree. They are planted with special planting media, native riparian and/or wetland plants and launched onto a water body. The plants are allowed to grow naturally, and as they develop, their roots grow through the matrix and into the water below. They are an excellent example of biomimicry, using nature's processes and systems to tackle environmental issues, such as poor water quality, helping to reduce excess nutrients, suspended solids, heavy metals, and other pollutants. These islands will: -improve water quality, acting as biofilters to uptake pollutants, including nutrients, and some heavy metals. -provide habitat and shade for fish. -enhance nursery habitat for fish. -ultimately provide and maintain access to a healthy protein food source to underserved community members. During the proposed project timeline AquaBio will perform water quality testing to assess treatment effectiveness in the lake. In addition, a survey of Park visitors will be conducted to gain a better understanding of how many visitors use the lake to fish, the number of species caught, as well as how many benefit i.e. number of families involved in fishing and consuming the fish. AquaBio will also install educational signage explaining the project in detail.

Belvedere Lake has been used as a place for the local community to fish for years. With the addition of two FTWs AquaBio believes the positive impact will be multi-faceted. FTWs have the capability of maintaining healthy fish communities by providing fish habitat and improving water quality. This will enhance fish community productivity, therefore, having the potential to alleviate the financial burden of LA County to restock the lake as frequently as in the past. In addition, boosted fish stocks should encourage more frequent use of the lake. Spending more time in green open spaces and engaging in the sport of fishing will improve both mental and physical health to local fishers. As well as bringing families and friends together, and creating lasting memories among the community. Information and data gathered as part of the project will show success and therefore, locations in other parts of LA County may benefit from the installation of FTWs.

As a new proposed project, AquaBio proposes to monitor the following before, during and after the project: Social Impact: Through simple 3-5 question surveys to the fishing clubs, boy scouts and while conducting lake maintenance we will garner information on approximate numbers of: -How many visitors to the lake? -How many fishers? -How many of those fishers are fishing for food and/or fishing to catch and release? Environmental Impact: 3 water quality sampling events will be conducted on ten different water quality parameters (Temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrate, Ammonia, Phosphate, Depth (Secchi Disk), Biological & Chemical Oxygen Demand & Fecal Coliform). Fish Community Impact: How many times before the project is the lake restocked compared to after. This will demonstrate the FTW impact on numbers of visitors and fishers due to an improvement in water quality, increase in fish community productivity, and number of fish caught for food or recreation (catch & release).

We are working with LA County ISD Department and Belvedere Lake staff for approval and access to lake for this project. They have granted approval and hope to receive the floating treatment wetland islands. It would make the lake more beautiful and attractive to those that frequent there with native plants, clearer water and more fish. Additionally, crime has been studied to decrease in greener areas. The lake has had a history or crime and the parks managers agree that more nature would go far to deter potential crime. Safety is their number one concern around the lake. Mike Homan Building Craft Superintendent Internal Services Department Los Angeles County East Los Angeles Civic Center 4801 3rd Street East Los Angeles 323-240-2228 cell Mhoman@isd.lacounty.gov