Restoration of Hansen Dam Lakes to Be Finished

Fifteen years after one of the region’s landmark recreation areas was shut down due to flood damage and neglect, the funds are finally in place to complete the restoration of Holiday Lake at Hansen Dam in the east San Fernando Valley.

The final $4.6 million for the $11.1-million project comes from funds raised from Measure A, a countywide bond issue for parks that passed last year, and money from the city of Los Angeles. It will be used to build swimming and boating lakes in the area, which already has equestrian trails and a sports complex.

“This is going to take one of the most overlooked and ignored areas of Los Angeles in terms of major recreation facilities and provide a first-class facility that will return Hansen Dam to the days before the floods and the silt destroyed a cherished recreation area,” said Rep. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills), who led the fight to restore Hansen Dam and its environs. “It will serve a part of the community that has been woefully underserved.”

The restored park will feature two lakes--a 1 1/2-acre area for swimming and 9 acres for boating and fishing.

“We’re glad to see it happen,” said Lydia Zimmer, an area resident who runs a Neighborhood Watch group nearby. “People who remember the old lakes would really like to see them back in the area again.”

Holiday Lake, a 130-acre body of water filled with runoff from Tujunga Wash, was opened as a city-run recreation area in 1949. The parks department built a sandy beach and a boat ramp, and the shallow section was cordoned off for swimming. Lifeguards monitored the lake from dawn until dusk, and concessionaires ran a petting zoo, and train and pony rides.

But it was expensive to maintain: The city had to continually pump water in during the summer months to keep the levels high enough for boating.

And because it was situated in a flood plain, it absorbed silt over the years that had been swept down the wash by the rain.

After shrinking to just 80 acres by 1975, Holiday Lake closed altogether in 1982 after several years of flooding filled the remaining space with silt. The surrounding park, whose popularity peaked in the 1950s, fell into disrepair, becoming a haven for gangs and the homeless.

The new lakes will be considerably smaller than the old lake, which drew swimmers and hikers from across Los Angeles County. But they will be located above the flood plain, protected from the fate of their predecessor, and the swimming area will feature filtered, chlorinated water.

Work on the restoration began in 1994 with funding from the city and the federal government. The Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the parkland, began digging out the two new lakes and laying pipes to filter the water for swimming.

Already, $6.5 million has been spent on the project, which has hit several snags along the way. The initially ambitious plan was scaled down twice because of scarce funding. Then, last summer, an endangered bird, the least Bell’s vireo, started nesting along the building site, forcing construction of the southwest slope of the park to be halted.

Now that the bird has moved on and funding has been found for the second and final phase of the project, work is expected to begin again this summer. The Army Corps is expected to begin taking bids from contractors in May.