Water Tainted : DWP Trying Again to Get OK for Tower

The Los Angeles Department and Water and Power has begun notifying residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood of its plans to build a 48-foot aeration tower nearby to help evaporate contaminants from ground water.

Residents and owners of land near the site, a city storage yard at 11845 Vose St., were notified Friday of DWP’s request for a permit from the South Coast Air Quality Management District to build the tower. The proposal also needs the approval of Los Angeles zoning officials.

An earlier proposal by the utility to build the tower in a residential area of North Hollywood prompted state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) to ask that residents near such facilities be notified of public hearings. DWP officials, citing aesthetic reasons, abandoned the other site and proposed the maintenance yard instead.

Request for Superfund Aid

Duane L. Georgeson, DWP assistant general manager, said no date has been set for a hearing on the proposal.

DWP has requested funds from the federal toxic-waste cleanup Superfund to help pay the estimated $2-million cost of removing chemicals from San Fernando Valley ground-water supplies.

A dozen wells in the North Hollywood area have been shut because of unacceptable levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, and perchloroethylene, or PCE, both potential carcinogens. Water drawn from a dozen wells with lower pollution levels is being blended with clean supplies to reduce contamination to acceptable levels.