Meetings to Focus on Covering Reservoirs

The first of nine public meetings will be held Thursday in Sun Valley on a multimillion-dollar proposal to cover city water supply reservoirs to reduce the risk of contamination, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has announced.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room of Byrd Junior High School, 9171 Telfair Ave. The San Fernando Valley will also be the site of the ninth and final meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 in the cafeteria of Canoga Park High School, 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

The DWP is considering alternative ways to protect 10 open reservoirs within the city to improve water quality. Although DWP water meets applicable health regulations, the proposal comes “in response to increased customer concern about water quality, and to emerging stricter state and federal water quality standards,” said Duane Georgeson, DWP assistant general manager for water.

The nine public meetings are intended to get public input to guide preparation of an environmental impact report that will analyze alternative ways to protect the reservoirs.

Installation of permanent covers is one of the alternatives. Other options include taking reservoirs out of service and replacing them with storage tanks, and building filtration plants near open reservoirs for water disinfection.

The four biggest reservoirs--the 158-acre Encino Reservoir and the Silver Lake, Lower Stone Canyon, and Lower Hollywood reservoirs--will not be covered, the DWP said.

Proposals to cover the reservoirs have sparked opposition on aesthetic grounds.

The evening meetings will be preceded at 7 p.m. by an open house with refreshments to allow time for informal discussion with DWP staff, water officials said.