LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Schools to Warn Students of Flood Channel Dangers

Nearly a year after Woodland Hills teen-ager Adam Bischoff drowned in the storm-swollen Los Angeles River, city and county officials have unveiled a program for Los Angeles County schools aimed at preventing children from getting caught in flood control channels.

The program includes a videotape that warns of the dangers of flood control channels, which have steep, smooth, concrete walls that make escape almost impossible when they fill with rushing rainwater. It will be shown to junior high and high school students, while elementary school students will get work sheets and other instructional materials. The program also provides forms for students to take home and have signed by their parents, saying that they have discussed flood channel safety.

The materials were distributed recently to the more than 1,600 schools in Los Angeles County, and to superintendents of school districts in other counties throughout the state. The program is funded by a $38,500 grant from the county Department of Public Works.