CENTRAL PARK OF THE VALLEY; OASIS OF GREEN OFFERS ESCAPE FROM CITY'S BUSTLE.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Colin Rebeck puttered at the water's edge, angling for just the right shot of the iridescent green mallards dabbling nearby.

Egrets and herons soared overhead, plunging occasionally to pluck fish from the water. The sun slipped behind a stand of rushes, silhouetting flocks of birds roosting on an island.

Only the row of office buildings to the east betrayed that this plot of paradise is squat in the middle of the San Fernando Valley and its 1.5 million people.

Sepulveda Basin, developed by the Army Corps of Engineers to control chronic flooding, has evolved into something much greater.

It is the Valley's Central Park, but bigger by far - a 2,031-acre wonderland where 3 million visitors a year take pleasure in its wilderness and recreational offerings.

For Rebeck, an Encino financial controller, a lunchtime visit indulging his hobby of wildlife photography is a break from the grind.

``Instead of having a big lunch, I come walk around here,'' said Rebeck, 47, of Reseda. ``It's a necessity, an absolute necessity. I'd go absolutely nuts if there wasn't some place like this nearby.''

Lowering his voice, he added: ``Don't say too much about it. We don't want too many people out here.''

A lot of regular users feel the same way about the basin, an oasis of green where they can escape the city's stranglehold.

Sepulveda Basin caters to nearly half a million die-hard golfers a year on its three courses; to the model airplane hobbyists with a vast open space where dozens of planes buzz around on weekends; to the bird-watchers bedazzled by the 200 or so species that can be spotted at the wildlife refuge.

Fishermen, boaters, archers, cyclists, walkers, joggers, dog lovers, nature lovers all have their place in the park. There's room and facilities for nearly everything: soccer, tennis, softball, picnics.

There's the Japanese Garden, beloved for its beauty and a popular place for weddings, bar mitzvahs and other ceremonies. And ever a place of function, nearby is the Tillman water reclamation plant.

More important than any one facility is the basin's uncluttered vastness.

``I think people really appreciate the open space,'' said Michael Goldstein, 40, of Studio City, fishing with his son Ben, 7.

``Even in the Valley, which is more spread out than the city, it's still one house on top of another.''

Melting park

On a recent Sunday, a man skateboarded lazily near Balboa Lake, pulled by his golden retriever toting a foam football in its mouth.

In-line skaters munched snacks as they raced by.

Something about the park turns grown-ups into kids.

While his son cast for fish, Michael Goldstein jogged behind Maverick, a mixed breed he proudly calls a ``rare giant beagle.''

``We like to go chase the ducks, right Maverick?'' he said.

Nearby, Donald Bossett, 57, of Van Nuys, guided his model sailboat through an obstacle course by remote control.

``I was golfing in Encino (Golf Course) and came through here to go home and saw the guys with the boats,'' said Bossett, who has joined the Lake Balboa Model Yacht Club, a group of some 15 model sailors who use the lake regularly.

``I've never sailed a boat before, so I wanted to see if I could learn to sail one.''

The basin draws together people who might otherwise pass each other in the bustle of everyday life.

On a recent day, a bride stood poised on the banks of Balboa Lake for photos, resplendent in her trailing white gown. In the background, flannel-clad fisherman peered at her curiously, tackle boxes in hand.

``One of the things I really like about this park is it's a good mix of people,'' Goldstein said.

Room for everyone

That mix grows increasingly varied as more visitors discover the basin's secrets, like nearly half Los Angeles' municipal courses.

``The course is pretty good,'' said Myung Jhun, 48, who drove over from Koreatown to play at Balboa Golf Course.

Bud Krause traveled from Redondo Beach to golf with his nephew and a friend at Balboa, next to neighboring Encino Golf Course.

``For two 18-holes of this quality, side by side, for $19, I'd say it's a terrific deal,'' said Krause, 57.

For Efrain Cordero, 25, of Granada Hills, who aspires to play professional soccer, the basin provides 16 soccer fields for play and practice.

He would love to see benches, lights and fences, but he's not complaining.

``It's a special thing for us because most of the Hispanic people, they work hard and they don't have chances to get excited,'' he said. ``Soccer is a good way to relieve the stress.''

Utilitarian beauty

If the basin has a guiding aesthetic, it's the creation of beauty out of utility.

The park owes its existence to the Army Corps of Engineers' construction of Sepulveda Dam in 1941, at a cost of $6.7 million in federal funds, said Fred-Otto Egeler, chief of public affairs for the Corps.

The 57-foot-high, 2.5-mile-long earth-filled dam was built along the San Diego and Ventura freeways to detain as much as 17,425 acre-feet of muddy floodwaters.

Perhaps the best example of the basin's utilitarian ethic is the Public Works Department's Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant. Each day, 65 million gallons of the Valley's sewage water is cleaned and treated at the plant, then pumped out to nurture a delicate Japanese garden and to fill the wildlife pond and Balboa Lake.

``The garden was basically placed here to demonstrate a high-end use of reclaimed water, to show the public what you can do when you have this resource,'' said manager Gene Greene.

Subterranean tunnels under the plant are laced with pipes labeled ``lake supply,'' ``domestic water'' or ``sump discharge.'' But above ground, it's a model of serenity, hosting 125 to 200 weddings, receptions, engagement parties and bar and bat mitzvahs each year.

Other than a slight briny odor, with occasional sulfurous wafts from the plant, the Japanese Garden offers no hint of the water's messy past. Simple paths and bridges wend around ponds and azaleas, camellias and day lilies, while egrets perch on black pine trees.

Sepulveda-wood

The Hollywood film industry, master of transforming the functional into the fabulous, has long recognized the park's versatility as a site for all manner of movies and TV spots.

``Balboa Park has an open, spacious look, with the river in the background. It's a very attractive, tranquil look,'' said Mike Bobenko, senior vice president of operations for the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., which coordinates film locations for the city of Los Angeles.

``Tillman Reclamation facility naturally has an industrial look to it, high-tech, very futuristic,'' he said. ``And then there's the Japanese gardens, which is very manicured, very serene. It has a pond and a bridge, so it's very charming.''

Hollywood loves it, too, using the basin for shoots twice a week.

A recent episode of ``Lois and Clark'' was shot at Lake Balboa Park.

Mike Myers' British spy spoof ``Austin Powers'' included a bumbling seduction scene shot at the Japanese Tea House.

Buildings around the reclamation plant formed a backdrop to a portion of the science fiction film ``Starship Troopers,'' and the plant's laboratory served in a recent episode of ``Baywatch Nights.''

``It's one of the most frequently filmed areas,'' Bobenko said. ``What's nice about the area is it's fairly remote, and the impacts to the surrounding communities are fairly minimal.''

Hollywood casts and crews use the park in their off hours too, stepping out of the spotlights to play softball.

The Showbiz Softball League has pitted some of Hollywood's biggest names against each other during 20 seasons of modified softball, a semi-fast-pitch form that permits bunting and base-stealing, said league Commissioner Leslie Greif, executive producer of the television show ``Walker, Texas Ranger.''

Actors Rob Reiner, Mark Harmon, Billy Crystal, Dan Cortese, Michael Keaton and Eric Laneuville have played in the league, along with basketball great Earvin ``Magic'' Johnson, singer Teddy Pendergrass and Walt Disney Studios Chairman Joe Roth, said league director Vic Puglisi.

The Jackson family had a team. Tony Danza of ``Taxi'' fame and other shows pitches for his own ``Danza's Dukes,'' last year's champions.

``When Tony or Michael or Rob Reiner play, they put business aside,'' Puglisi said.

``My observation of it is that there's a quality of camaraderie between them all because they have the entertainment affiliation. But on the other hand, when the umpire yells, `Play ball

' it's all about softball.''

Wildlife preserve

The park's hidden gem lies at the end of a muddy trail, sequestered behind a thick fringe of brush that acts as shelter and camouflage for its many animals.

``The wildlife area is one of the secrets in the San Fernando Valley that we'd really like to acquaint more people with,'' said Muriel Kotin, conservation chairwoman of the Valley Audubon Society. ``Many people who visit for the first time and many repeat visitors consider it a little piece of heaven.''

The wildlife preserve and pond were built in 1991, Kotin said. The pool uses reclaimed water and is home to Canada geese, coots, grebes, egrets, hawks, meadowlarks and red-winged blackbirds.

``We've seen over 200 species of birds in the wildlife area in the last 15 years,'' Kotin said. ``The most recent excitement has been an immature bald eagle, which is a first, as far as we know.''

The 108-acre area is slated for a 75-acre expansion funded by $4 million in Proposition A parks bonds, Kotin said.

``I think it's better here than in the city,'' said Corina Vasquez, 27, of Pacoima, watching her 3- and 5-year-old sons gleefully approach the ducks.

``They get in touch with the animals,'' she said. ``They learn to love it.''

A feeling of flying

If the park is a microcosm of the great outdoors, the Apollo 11 Model Airport is a condensed version of the wild blue yonder.

It's the passionate hobby of some 2,000 grown men and half a dozen women who use the field each week.

Amid the turkey vultures scouting prey over the open field, one plane looped through a series of aerobatic maneuvers while another glided languidly through the clear afternoon air.

``A feeling of flying'' makes it a great hobby, said James Bullock, 23, an aircraft mechanics student at the nearby North Valley Occupational Center.

Eric Lietz, 36, of West Hills watched as his cracked and scarred plane crashed once again.

``Some planes are referred to as `basin beaters,' '' Lietz said. ``A basin beater is a plane you tend to fly often and has been in a lot of crashes. This is one of them.''

The meticulous attention flyers devote to their hobby reflects their view of the sport as a discipline as exacting as piloting real aircraft.

``There's not a better flying site,'' said Ray Davis of North Hills, a flight instructor.

The sentiment that the basin is as good as it gets is echoed by others.

``To me it's imperative to have some open space,'' said Rebeck, the company controller, as he stalked a young bald eagle in hopes of making a photo.

``In a short distance, you can leave your house and take a walk. It's very beautiful, considering you're right in the middle of a major city.''

CAPTION(S):

9 Photos, map, box

PHOTO (1 -- color) Ben Goldstein, 7, of Studio City casts one last time in the fading light of Lake Balboa, part of the 2,031-acre basin that attracts 3 million visitors a year.

(2) Kelli Kallenborn and John Emmons of West Hills watch some of the 200 species of birds that frequent the basin's wildlife refuge.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Adam Ramsey of Santa Barbara and Johnny Hung of Marina Del Rey, far left, try for the bull's-eye at the Woodley Park Archery Range in the Sepulveda Basin. At left, players take part in a spirited game of soccer at the Balboa Sports Center.

(5 -- color) Anglers pack up for the day as newly married Maria Lopez, 20, waits to have her wedding photos taken at Lake Balboa. Diversity is a key in the basin, offering numerous activities for visitors.

(6 -- 8 -- color) Eric Lietz of West Hills makes a final check on his radio-controlled model plane, far left, before a flight at the Apollo 11 Model Aircraft Field. A great egret, center, takes flight at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve where visitors can also see snowy egrets, blue herons, Canada geese as well as ducks and coots. Above, Vered Galor, a Learning Tree University instructor, leads a photo workshop at the reserve.

(9 -- color) no caption (Sepulveda dam)

Myung J. Chun/Daily News

Map: (1) Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area

Box: Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area