Rescue Plan Surfaces for Silty Lake

Sydney Drasnin goes boating on Westlake Lake as often as he can, but lately it seems there is less and less lake to boat on.

Bit by bit, day by day, parts of the lake have begun getting shallower, as sediment washes in from Potrero Creek. There are now areas in the middle of the lake where Drasnin could stand in knee-high water, if he wanted to.

“About a year ago, it became obvious there wasn’t enough water,” Drasnin said Friday. “You can see birds sitting on these little mounds of earth.”

But the county flood control district is coming to the rescue of Drasnin and his neighbors.

The county has agreed to pay for a system that will help divert the Potrero Creek sediment, stopping a glut of silt that has created shallow patches and threatened some homes on the lake with flood damage.

Later this summer, workers will begin to set up a series of underwater screens in Potrero Creek, which would send the sediment into a basin near the Triunfo Canyon Road bridge.

Workers would then periodically clear the basin of the silt and dirt, stemming potential flooding during heavy storms and keeping the sporting locale free of more buildup.

“It’s going to save the lake,” Supervisor Frank Schillo said.

The $1.8-million project will be handled by the Ventura County Flood Control District, which is responsible for the creek, and will be paid for by federal funds, said Julian Macdonald, an aide to the supervisor.

The Board of Supervisors this week approved the project and next week will vote whether to accept a bid from a Duarte contracting firm. Work is expected to begin in July.

Heavy storms have pushed the sediment against the lake’s banks, putting several houses in danger of flooding and spreading water nine feet over one home’s patio.

“That water comes down there with great force, with a lot of silt and soot,” said Ron Ruiz, coordinator of the project for the Westlake Lake Management Assn. He said one home “lost a lot of their yard.”

Last year, a group of engineers from Colorado State University studied the lake and decided the best plan of action would be to set up a dike and a series of baffles, or small dams. That system should divert the silt from the lake and into a basin dug near the base of the bridge.

The technique is cutting edge because typically a basin is not built completely underwater, but experiments by CSU and flood district engineers prove this would work, said Jeff Pratt, director of the flood control district.

The lake was built by the American Hawaiian Steamship Co. in the late 1960s as a centerpiece to the community it was constructing and has since become a top recreation center in Westlake Village. But its creation was long before anyone envisioned the slow buildup of sediment particles washed in by the creek.

“This is something the original diggers of lakes didn’t perceive,” Pratt said. “Now, it’s pretty much standard to put something together to catch sediment.”

The county has been forestalling any flooding by setting up riprap barriers. But lake dwellers say despite the impending annoyance of construction, they will bear it for something more permanent--and for more boating space.

“They all realize they’re living in paradise,” Drasnin said. “They want to keep it that way.”