Celebrating the Ballona Creek Watershed

If you have lived in the Los Angeles area for any amount of time, or are just a fan of ecological gems in the area, than you have likely heard of Ballona Creek and its important watershed that surrounds it. The creek may not have the same reputation as the LA River, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a crucial part of our local environment.

So why is this particular watershed so vital? For one, it feeds the Ballona Wetlands, which spans 600 acres and is a stopover for migratory birds as well as rare native plants like the yellow pincushion (chaenactis glabriuscula).

Ballona Creek itself runs almost 9 miles in length and the watershed totals 130 square miles. Friends of Ballona Wetlands and others have been working hard to protect this vital section of biological diversity in our city. Some great Clean Water folks living in the watershed are celebrating water by collecting it and putting it to reuse.  To check out some cool rain gardens in the Ballona Creek Watershed, take a look at these.

Do you happen to live near the Ballona Creek Watershed? If you reside near downtown or west to the Pacific Ocean, you’re likely to be right in the middle of it. Check out LA Creek Freak’s cool map to find out.

From its various trails to parks, there are a number of great ways to experience and appreciate Ballona Creek, whether you live in the watershed or not. It’s a little piece of wetlands right in our own backyard we can enjoy and LA Stormwater is committed to making sure it remains healthy and vibrant for generations to come. That means we must continue to reduce runoff and clean up litter along with other bad stuff that gets washed through our storm drains.

You can help us continue to meet this Clean Water goal if you live in the Ballona Creek Watershed.  Why not consider installing a rain barrel on your property or participating in a volunteer cleanup event (which we post on our monthly events calendar!).

We’d love to hear from you. Do you live in the Ballona Creek Watershed? If not, which watershed in Los Angeles (or wherever you may be) do you call home?

*Photo courtesy of TravelinLocal.com.