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The
relationship between the County represented by the five supervisors, the County
Department of Public Works, development forces and flood control is a complex
study in the history and growth of the region as well as the current economic
and political environment. Simplistically stated, development forces want to
develop land and promote economic growth (primarily their own). The County Board
of Supervisors, beholden to business and development interests through campaign
contributions are reluctant to question the validity of many projects just because
of any problems the project might present with recurring natural disasters.
Instead, the responsibility for public safety falls on the engineers of the
County Department of Public Works to find a technological fix, sometimes at
great expense. As any hydraulic engineer can tell you, the irony of flood control
is that it allows more development. More development means worse floods because
paved land doesn't absorb water as well as unpaved, vegetated land will. The
L.A. River was designed in 1939 and built through the 40's when much of the
watershed was still primarily agricultural. It was designed to handle a 100
year flood. Now, in some areas, it can barely handle a twenty-five year event. |
