LA Stormwater

Are you an avid gardener with a yard that deserves to be shown off to the world? Every year, the Theodore Payne foundation hosts a Native Plant Garden Tour that highlight the prettiest sustainable gardens across Los Angeles. 🌱🌱🌱

Some of the gardens on the tour are proffessionally managed, but many are residential gardens like yours. If your yard is well-loved and full of California natives, we encourage you to apply! Learn more here: https://nativeplantgardentour.org/apply/

Pride Month celebrates love - and we love our oceans! 🏳️‍🌈🌊

On Saturday June 20th, Heal the Bay and Supervisor Lindsey Horvath are hosting a Pride Month beach cleanup at Ginger Rogers Beach. Attendees are encouraged to wear festive attire, bring pride flags, and show up for both their community and their coastline. The event runs from 10am to 12pm and supplies are provided.

Register here: [https://healthebay.org/event/june-nbs/]

World Oceans Day may have passed, but the cleanup work doesn't stop! 🌊

This Saturday, June 13th from 9-11am, join LA Waterkeeper at Santa Monica Beach for their monthly Creeks to Coast cleanup. It's a hands-on chance to protect the coastline that makes LA the city we love - and a great way to carry the spirit of World Oceans Day into action.

Find more info and register here: https://www.lawaterkeeper.org/events/june-2026-c2c

Good news: solutions exist, and people are putting them to work. 💡

Every year NPR runs Climate Solutions Week, spotlighting the innovations, communities, and everyday decisions that are bending the curve on climate change. It's a welcome reminder that progress is happening - and that LA is part of the story. Follow the link below check out the spotlighted articles from this year.

https://www.npr.org/series/1199537689/climate-week

Beach season is here, Angelenos - and before you hit the sand, it's worth knowing what's in the water.🏖️

Heal the Bay just dropped their 2026 River and Beach Report Cards, grading water quality at hundreds of sites along the LA coast. Check your favorite beach before you go at the link below!
https://healthebay.org/annual-beach-and-river-report-cards-2025-2026/

Two big days are just around the corner! 🌍🌊

Tomorrow, June 5th is World Environment Day - this year themed around climate action and the urgent signals our planet is sending. Then on June 8th, World Oceans Day reminds us of how deeply connected our everyday choices here in LA are to the health of the Pacific. From keeping litter off our streets to supporting green infrastructure, every action Angelenos take ripples outward. How will you mark these two days? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for a great Infrastructure Week this past May! As a follow-up, the City’s Safe Clean Water Program was featured prominently in the weekly LA This Week news show. Board of Public Works President Steven Kang provides an overview of LA’s Safe Clean Water Program, its benefits to LA residents and how it relates to Mayor Bass’ sustainability goals.

https://youtu.be/a9ZvIBmo_Sc?si=GR4qtgcs11BelZUH

How LA is Turning Stormwater Into Clean Water Discover how the City of Los Angeles is transforming stormwater int...

For over 15 years, botanist Naomi Fraga has been searching remote desert mountains for one tiny seed: the rare Death Valley sage. This Spring, amidst a desert superbloom, she hopes to finally find it. 🌿

She's part of an effort to vault the seeds of all of California's rare plants - a living library that protects species before they're gone forever. Read the full story: 🔗 https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5749446/botanist-search-seeds-rare-death-valley-sage

In 2016, Antarctica's sea ice suddenly collapsed — and hasn't recovered since. Scientists just figured out why, with help from torpedo-shaped robots drifting silently through the deep. 🤖🧊

The short answer: decades of trapped heat, released all at once. The implications stretch far beyond the poles — all the way to sea level rise that could eventually affect coastlines like ours. To learn more, read the full story here: https://grist.org/oceans/deep-diving-robots-help-crack-the-mystery-of-antarcticas-vanishing-sea-ice/

We’re wrapping up Infrastructure Week 2026 by looking at how the Safe Clean Water Program will positively impact LA’s water quality moving forward. While building water quality/capture projects is vitally important, ensuring that these projects have the funding available to be successfully operated and maintained guarantees that these projects function properly for years to come.

To date, the City of LA has secured approximately $15 million for the operation and maintenance of Echo Park Lake, Machado Lake (pictured) and the Ballona Creek TMDL Project.

Additionally, the City of Los Angeles is actively collaborating with five community based organizations who have projects that are seeking technical assistance and funding through LA County’s Safe Clean Water Technical Resource Program. The goal of this collaboration is the development of water quality/capture project concepts that can advance and become infrastructure funding applications in future Safe Clean Water Program regional funding rounds.

Thanks for following along this week as we’ve explored the City’s Safe Clean Water Program. To learn more, visit lacitysan.org/safecleanwater.