Fernando Gomez

This document outlines the application of the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) to the Los Angeles River. It details a three-stage process involving understanding the river's biodiversity goals and natural baseline, determining flow needs for biodiversity and recreation, and developing flow recommendations that align with broader watershed goals. Key management themes addressed include recreation, biodiversity/habitat, tribal/cultural aspects, flooding, water supply, urban cooling, and water quality. The ultimate vision is to create a comprehensive set of flow recommendations and an implementation plan to support the river's diverse management objectives.

This fact sheet details the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) as applied to the Los Angeles River, focusing on restoration efforts to support steelhead recovery. It outlines steelhead migration patterns, the presence of native rainbow trout in the Arroyo Seco, and ongoing initiatives for fish passage and habitat enhancement by entities such as the City of LA and Trout Unlimited. The document also addresses operational changes, water temperature considerations, and the potential for steelhead to return to the LA River contingent on barrier removal.

The meeting centered on applying the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) to the Los Angeles River. Key discussion points included managing the extensive information base by segmenting management goals into seven themes: biodiversity and habitat, tribal cultural, flooding, recreation, urban cooling, water supply, and water quality. The presenters reviewed the context for using CEFF, noting that the LA River Environmental Flows Project developed an initial toolkit that CEFF would expand upon to address all management goals, leading to flow recommendations. Progress on CEFF sections A and B was detailed, including adapting section A terminology (using 'biodiversity' instead of 'ecological') and addressing challenges with historical flow estimation due to the river's gaining/losing characteristics. Section B analysis is ongoing and will incorporate recreational management goals alongside biodiversity. For Section C, the focus is developing flow recommendations aligned with multiple goals, which involves establishing a LA River CEFF Technical Working Group (TWIG) to structure the decision-making process and determine functional flow criteria collaboratively with stakeholders.

The second Technical Working Group meeting for the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) Los Angeles River kicked off the Thematic Technical Working Groups (TTWGs) involvement. Key discussions included providing background information, sharing organizational management goals, and beginning to identify performance measures. Specific topics addressed across the thematic breakout groups included historic flows calculation, flood risk management, urban cooling strategies, water quality concerns (such as trash and temperature), water supply needs, recreation access, and cultural/tribal priorities like steelhead trout reintroduction. Concerns were raised regarding data availability, the need to consider interrelationships between themes, potential prescriptiveness of final products, and ensuring all relevant experts and organizations are engaged in the process.

This document outlines the California Environmental Flows Framework (CEFF) for the Los Angeles River, a comprehensive approach to develop flow recommendations aligned with management goals. It details the progress of Technical Working Groups across seven major themes: Recreation, Biodiversity, Tribal/Cultural, Flood Risk Management, Water Supply, Urban Cooling, and Water Quality. The framework defines goals, performance measures, and suitability criteria, and describes a flow assessment workflow to evaluate existing and potential future river conditions, aiming to optimize management actions and inform future design for sustainable environmental flows.