Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The dredging of Colorado Lagoon is coming to a close, at last check more than 50,000 cubic yards of sediment has been hauled to the Port of Long Beach to be used in the Middle Harbor project (Big thanks to our friends at the LB Port!). This polluted sediment has built up in the lagoon (mainly from the stormdrains) over the last ~80 years, and its removal was mandated when the State Water Board (SWB) set strict new limits for pollutants in Colorado Lagoon. The sediment, while not classified as toxic, has lead and other pollutants above limits set by the SWB.


Sediment from the lagoon, including an old car chassis, before being hauled away.
In addition to the sediment removal, 3 storm drain outfalls have been demolished and hauled away, including the infamous Termino Ave Drain, which was the trigger for tremendous community involvement at the lagoon. But the most noticeable change visitors see when peering through the tattered green fence is the land at the western end of the lagoon has been re-contoured to increase intertidal habitat. This area will be replanted by FOCL and the community over the next 18-24 months thanks to a grant from the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC). Stay tuned for more info on how you can get involved in this effort.

View of the re-contoured western end of Colorado Lagoon - No more Termino Ave Drain!

The contractor, AIS, is still measuring and touching up the bottom of the lagoon to make sure it meets the project specifications. This should be complete within a week or two and then the dredge equipment will be removed.

Next steps for AIS include removing the abandoned bathroom and the parking lot on the north shore, filling the hole left by the parking lot removal (using piles of clean dirt from the west lagoon re-contouring) and grading the site. When this is complete, most of the fences will come down and the lagoon will be open to visitors again. Originally scheduled for the end of July, it now looks like mid to late August for the re-opening.

Tough Commute - An excavator moves itself around the lagoon with its bucket
The tide gates are still not completely opened yet, but the water clarity has improved dramatically in the last few weeks as the dredging has tapered off. We are very excited for the temporary tide gates to be removed and the tide to return to pre-project ranges, the water should look better than ever!

As we approach another milestone in the restoration of the lagoon, FOCL wishes to thank all of the lagoon's neighbors for their patience during this major construction project. Thanks for all your continued support!



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

FOCL Updates

We here at FOCL are trying to sync all of our Social Media (Check out our Facebook Group page when you have a chance!)  with our website (ColoradoLagoon.org) and our blog and Emails to our members. We will get it worked out so that you can be fully up to date on all FOCL happenings at the Lagoon. In the meantime, check out this update that we sent to members last week (it doesn't come out super clear so click on the pic)...


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Summer Activities!

Check out the new FOCL Event Flier showing events the end of the year! Pay special attention to the Science Shack Summer event that will occur every Saturday and Sunday starting July 7th and ending September 2nd. More information to come....

Monday, June 4, 2012

Friends of Colorado Lagoon have a couple of events this Saturday June 9th 2012:

Estuary Exploration from 8am-10am

and then, right after,

Habitat Restoration from 10am-Noon

Join the Lagoon education and restoration team to help fix and explore the Colorado Lagoon!
Email: Education@ColoradoLagoon.org for more information