Greening ‘Charcoal Alley’
103rd Street Green Improvement Project with Watts Re:Imagined september 15, 2022In 2016, LA Waterkeeper and NRDC reached a legal settlement with the County of Los Angeles and LA County Flood Control District, providing $2.8 million to the Watts neighborhood’s 103rd Street Green Improvement Project. This project aimed to add ecological features to the neighborhood’s main transportation artery, formerly known as “Charcoal Alley.”
During the 1965 Watts Uprising, the once vibrant 103rd Street suffered damage and decline that lasted for decades. A coalition of local organizations launched the Watts Re:Imagined program to revitalize the corridor by building more active transportation options and green infrastructure. The goal of this project was to make the area more climate resilient and provide green space in one of the most park-poor areas in LA County.
This inspiring vision made it an ideal recipient of settlement funds from the lawsuit brought by these two environmental groups against the County and District in 2008. This lawsuit stemmed from the agencies’ failure to adequately address ongoing urban and stormwater runoff pollution. In fact, urban runoff is #1 source of pollution to LA’s waters, and at the time the suit was filed it was estimated that nearly 100 billion gallons of contaminated runoff was fouling LA’s waterways every year. In a marathon 8-year legal battle that wound its way up to the US Supreme Court and back, the County was ultimately held responsible for nearly 500 violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
As part of the final settlement with the County and District, $2.8M in Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funds were used to kickstart the implementation of the Watts Re:Imagined vision through streetscape improvements focused on stormwater capture and filtration. These features helped reduce urban runoff into local waterways while also providing improvements that made the corridor more inviting for area residents.
A vision of the new 103rd Street, previously known as Charcoal Alley, revitalized using SEP funds with green infrastructure, transportation options, and improved stormwater capture.
The Watts Re:Imagined coalition envisions that 103rd Street will once again become the neighborhood’s thriving Main Street, with a vibrant business district, transit-oriented developments, people-friendly streets and green spaces. The investment, made possible by SEP funds resulting from LA Waterkeeper’s litigation, was a significant step in making the vision of a revitalized 103rd Street a reality.
“I want to see Watts become a thriving community where everyone can prosper,” said Chris Jordan, Executive Director of Grant Housing and Economic Development Corporation and Co-leader of the Watts Re:Imagined program. “This project continues to push us forward by raising the level of expectation of sustainable infrastructure.”
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The Clean Water Act turns 50 this October, and to mark the occasion LA Waterkeeper is highlighting some of our most significant legal victories, including spotlighting restoration projects funded through our legal settlements. Litigation can create the leverage to force polluters to provide tangible water-quality solutions in the communities affected by their actions through financial Supplement Environmental Projects like the one highlighted above. LAW has helped provide nearly $16m in SEPs (and counting) that are helping remediate past harms in our most burdened communities.
To learn more about LAW’s landmark cases and the impact they have had on the health of the region’s waterways and communities, check out our recently released Litigation = Impact report.