As we reflect on the past year's successes, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our legal interns, whose dedication and expertise have played a pivotal role in shaping our 2023 efforts. From researching the ramifications of Sackett v. EPA to exploring the harmful impacts of ship anchoring on the seafloor, they have collectively demonstrated a commitment that goes beyond their individual roles. The strides we've made in the past year wouldn't have been possible without their collaborative efforts.

With over a quarter of the basin’s available land currently under-utilized, the vision plan process offers a significant opportunity to transform the basin from its dull, degraded present state into one where both humans and the ecosystem can truly thrive.

On a crisp Thursday evening in October, LA Waterkeeper held Making Waves, its annual fundraising event, blending art and activism to envision a more sustainable future for the LA River.

Los Angeles Waterkeeper remembers Cindy Montañez, a dedicated advocate for her community and a true trailblazer, forging paths in politics and environmental activism with an unwavering spirit.

Three decades after two conservation groups sued the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) over its mishandling of polluted runoff, the groups and the agency have agreed to update the settlement terms and end the case for good. The case, which was filed by the NRDC and LA Waterkeeper in 1993, argued Caltrans failed to properly manage discharge from more than 900 miles of roads and 35 maintenance facilities located across Los Angeles and Ventura counties in violation of the Clean Water Act.

The Los Angeles County Water Plan was recently released for public review, and it gets a lot of things right. LA Waterkeeper submitted comments on the draft, noting some of the things the Plan gets right and where opportunities for improvement remain.

Our State of the Water blog series has explored how LA’s water sources fared after one of the wettest wet seasons the region has ever experienced. Here we explore how we can take advantage of future rains to ensure a secure water future.

On June 7, LA Waterkeeper lost a longtime friend and ally with the passing of Dr. Bruce Bell. While probably not a household name to most of our supporters, Dr. Bell played a critical role in the health of LA’s waterways and the success of LA Waterkeeper.

On the heels of one of LA’s wettest winters in decades, the value of a robust, dynamic stormwater capture program has become crystal clear to the public and policymakers alike. LA County voters were ahead of the curve when they passed Measure W in 2018 to better equip the region for the extremes of climate change. The resulting Safe Clean Water Program (SCWP) is the most ambitious stormwater capture program in the country and has already brought myriad benefits to LA’s communities.

Two years have passed since a catastrophic system failure at the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant led to a massive spill of 12.5 million gallons of raw sewage into the plant’s one-mile outfall pipe. This disaster on July 11, 2021 was our region’s most devastating sewage spill in decades. In its aftermath, LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) is working with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LA Regional Board) on a plan to address its numerous violations related to the spill. Depending on the outcome of negotiations between these agencies, robust penalties for this spill could create an opportunity for local community investments focused on ecological restoration, as well as investments that would modernize our wastewater system to protect our region from similar spills in the future.

LA Waterkeeper’s latest report, “Changing the Course?: What’s Worked, What Hasn’t, and What’s Next for the Safe Clean Water Program” assesses the first three years of Los Angeles County’s Safe Clean Water Program (SCWP). The program is funded by a voter-approved tax (2018’s Measure W) that raises about $280M per year, in perpetuity, to better manage urban and stormwater runoff.