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Poland Report is a 288 page study completed in 1959 of the Hydrology of the LA Basin. It's an excellent example of a Hydrology Report.
In the late 1990's, Playa Vista illegally installed two large drains in Area B. Jonathan Coffin, a local Ballona photographer, found them some 20 years later. Grassroots shared photographs of the Drains with the California Coastal Commission. A member of the CCC Enforcement Division said "This is the exact opposite...". In December 2019 the CCC demanded the Drains be removed. They were capped instead. After a year the Drains began leaking again but in the meantime Rainwater began raising the water table in the Ballona Wetlands.
Those of us like Grassroots Coalition who are opponents of the Final Environmental Impact Report have asked repeatedly to have a current Hydrology Report done. We want to know just how much the hydrology has changed since the wetlands were deprived of Rainwater for 20 years.
We have found that reading the documents below, or just scanning the diagrams will help you understand the underground hydrology of Ballona Wetlands, and how hydrology reports are actually done. You can compare the Ballona Restoration Final EIR pages which fail to discuss hydrology period.
1954 House Documents 389 and 780 establish Marina del Rey. 900 Acres of Ballona Wetlands were re-purposed for the Marina.
Only 640 acres were preserved as vital wetlands. Now the FEIR proposes digging up approximately half of it 20' to 30' deep to invite saltwater intrusion into the Aquifer beneath the wetlands. This was not what the public paid $140 million to preserve for a Predominantly freshwater season wetland preserve.
Environmental Water Laws effecting Ballona:
a. 1959 Poland Report etal (hydrology report of LA Basin) Torrance-Santa Monica Area, California
By J. F. POLAND, A. A. GARRETT, and ALLEN SINNOTT GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1461 Prepared in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, in collaboration with the cities of Inglewood, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, ElSegundo, Hawthorne, Culver City, Gardena, Hermosa Beach, and Palos Verdes Estates,
and with the West Basin Water Association
RECOMMENDED READING INDEX
San Pedro formation________________________ 39
Definition,_____________ ___ ___._____ ______ 39
Representative exposed sections______________ 41
Faunal data from outcrops and wells____ __ ____ 42
Thickness ________________________________ 44
Physical character and water-bearing properties__ 45
Stratigraphic relations_ _____________________ 56
Ground-water hydrology Regional ground-water conditions
Groundwater in the west basin___see pages 78-85
Control of saline encroachment______________ 261
Need for restraint of encroachment.__________ 261
Methods of control.._______________________ 262
General aspects. _________________________ 262
Control adjacent to saline fronts__________ ___263
Construction of artificial subsurface dikes______ 263 Development of a water-level trough coastward
from thesaline front_______________________ 264
Maintenance of fresh-water head above sea level.264
b. 1954 Congressional House Doc 389 and 780 establish Marina del Rey
Complete 47 pages MDR House Document No. 389 SMB - Public Law 389 5:11:1954 47 page pdf
Recommend reading pages 8 and 9 items 1-3 re: effect of dredging marina 20-25 feed deep on water wells, also saltwater intrusion on Ballona aquifers.
Annotated House Document No. 780 SMB - Public Law 780 9-3-1954 Rivers and Harbors Act 2 page pdf
See California highlight.
c. 1961 Department of Water Resources Map of Ballona's Freshwater Aquifers
BALLONA 2003, PROPOSED FEIR 2021.docx
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