U. S. Senate OKs Funds for Hansen Dam Restoration, L.A. River Studies : Recreation: Most of the money will be used to complete a 15-acre swimming and boating lake and other facilities for the long-neglected Valley reservoir.

The Senate on Wednesday approved spending $2.79 million for the Hansen Dam restoration project in the northeast San Fernando Valley and $800,000 for various Los Angeles River studies.

The funds, included in a massive energy and water development appropriations measure, were approved by the House on Tuesday and the bill now goes to President Clinton for his signature.

The Hansen Dam money will be used to complete work on a 15-acre swimming and boating lake and other recreation facilities. The project is part of a larger plan for reviving the area between Lake View Terrace and Pacoima.

The $2.79 million is the entire amount requested by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City). In past years, a considerable portion of funding for the project came from revenues from the sale of silt dredged at the site. But that fund is now exhausted.

The long-neglected dam, which is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, borders communities with many low-income and minority families. For years, residents have complained that the dam was ignored as a potential recreation site while resources were steered to projects in more affluent Valley neighborhoods, such as the Sepulveda Basin.

“Hansen Dam is located in an area largely populated by families of little means and few opportunities for wholesome recreation,” Berman said.

“The area is plagued with high crime and at-risk youth whose energies too often get channeled into gangs and violence,” he said. “This underserved area is very much in need of the recreational opportunities afforded by a 15-acre swimming-boating lake.”

Congress also approved funding for three Los Angeles River studies requested by Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), including $300,000 to continue the Los Angeles River Watercourse Study. That $1.5-million review, begun last year, is looking into possible environmental enhancements along two areas of the river, near Glendale and Griffith Park.

“The study is expected to show some promising possibilities for establishing wetlands along the river,” Beilenson said.

The bill also includes $400,000 to fund development of plans for recreational facilities on a 19-mile stretch of the river that runs from the Sepulveda Basin to the Arroyo Seco. The plan is seen as a prelude to establishing bike trails along the waterway.

Also approved in the bill was $100,000 to begin a study of water conservation possibilities in the Los Angeles County drainage area. The city and federal governments are to share the cost of that study, which is expected to total $1.5 million eventually.

“Through this water conservation study, the (Army Corps of Engineers) hopes to identify ways to increase the water supply through modifications to the existing Los Angeles County drainage area system,” Beilenson said. “There is probably no place in the country where the conservation or reclamation of water will have more benefits or save more money than in Southern California.”

Absent from this year’s requests were proposals for additional funds for recreational projects at Sepulveda Basin, for which Beilenson has requested money almost yearly since 1985. He said that before seeking more federal funds for the lake and park located at the basin, the Army Corps’ “questions about the city’s contribution to the project need to be resolved.”

Funding for recreation development at the basin is split with the city on a 50-50 basis, but the city has fallen behind schedule in matching federal money since fiscal 1991. The corps is prohibited from spending more federal money until the city has caught up, which corps officials said they expect to occur within two years.