CREST Activities - Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek Description - Ballona Creek flows slightly over 10 miles from Los Angeles (South of Hancock Park) through Culver City, reaching the ocean at Playa del Rey. Except for the estuary of Ballona Creek, which is trapezoidal composed of grouted rip-rap side slopes and an earth bottom, Ballona Creek is entirely lined in concrete and extends into a complex underground network of stormdrains which reaches to Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, draining 130 square miles of highly developed land, with both residential and commercial land uses. (Source: Trash Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Ballona Creek and Wetland, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Los Angeles Region, September 19, 2001.)Ballona Creek is segmented into 3 reaches based on hydrologic units, as follows:
- Reach 1 - "Ballona Creek" is a 2-mile stretch from Cochran Avenue to National Boulevard.
- Reach 2 - "Ballona Creek to Estuary" is the longest segment of the creek (approximately 4 miles) continuing on from National Boulevard and ending at Centinela Avenue where the estuary begins.
- Reach 3 - "Ballona Creek Estuary" continues to the Pacific Ocean for 3.5 miles and its lower portion runs parallel to the main channel of Marina del Rey Harbor.
A Consent Decree issued on March 23, 1999 and signed by Heal the Bay, Santa Monica BayKeeper, and the USEPA mandates schedule for TMDLs in Ballona Creek for the following constituents::
- Trash
- Metals
- Sediment Toxicity
- Bacteria
TMDLs for trash, metals and toxicity have already been developed for Ballona Creek. CREST is currently focused on preparing a TMDL for bacteria.
- Ballona Creek Photographs - VIEW GALLERY
- Ballona Creek Watershed Map - Download in PDF Format
- Ballona Creek Water Quality Attainment Strategy Studies - Download in PDF Format
Ballona Creek Bacteria
- Ballona Creek and Estuary Bacteria TMDL (CREST Discussion) - Download in PDF Format
- Ballona Creek Bacteria TMDL Implementation Options - Download in PDF
Format - Ballona Creek Objectives and Performance Measures for CREST - Download in PDF Format
Ballona Creek Toxics
- Proposed Implementation Planning and Schedule:
Ballona Creek and Estuary Toxics TMDL - Download in PDF Format