Health Study of DWP Tower Project Urged
A coalition of environmental groups Thursday called on the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to prepare an environmental impact report before building an aeration tower in North Hollywood to evaporate ground-water contaminants from the San Fernando Valley.
Representatives of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water told a news conference at City Hall that the Department of Water and Power should examine the potential health effects of releasing contaminants into the air and study alternatives.
The group threatened to go to court, if necessary, to force environmental studies.
However, Joe Hegenbart, DWP assistant engineer of water design, said Thursday that the department does not believe an environmental impact report is necessary because “there is no significant health effect” from the project, adding that state health officials support the DWP’s position.
The DWP proposes to build the 48-foot-high structure at its storage yard at 11845 Vose St. The tower transfers chemicals in the water to the air through evaporation.
A dozen wells in the North Hollywood area have been shut because they have unacceptable levels of trichlorethylene and perchlorethylene, both possible carcinogens. Water drawn from a dozen less-polluted wells is blended with clean supplies to reduce contamination below the state’s acceptable limits.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District will hold a hearing Monday night at Fair Elementary School in North Hollywood on the tower’s construction.
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