Letters to the Editor: Short-term fixes at the L.A. River's 'choke point' won't work

Los Angeles Times Opinion
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LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 25: The Los Angeles River at Red Car River Park in Atwater Village on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. A powerful winter storm system that forecasters say will bring an extended period of cold temperatures, high winds and snow, prompting the region's first blizzard warning on record. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Water moves swiftly down the rain-swollen Glendale Narrows section of the Los Angeles River in Atwater Village on Feb. 25. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: The article about the L.A. River's "choke point" at the Glendale Narrows correctly acknowledges that flooding is a key climate impact that we must tackle. That being said, the solutions being discussed, such as removing vegetation and sediment from channels, are merely short-term fixes in reaction to our past mistake of developing within floodplains.

We must pursue long-term and climate-resilient solutions to flooding, which means taking a comprehensive watershed approach that prioritizes nature-based solutions.

This includes capturing more storm water throughout the region (with funding from the Safe Clean Water Program) to reduce the volume of runoff in the river, and expanding greenways and natural floodplains along the river channel.

To stop exacerbating flooding risks in the meantime, we must not add any more development and hardscape directly adjacent to the river. This approach to flood management will protect our most vulnerable communities from climate impacts and create a healthy and resilient future for all Angelenos.

Benjamin Harris, Los Angeles

The writer is a staff attorney at Los Angeles Waterkeeper.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.