CONVERTING L.A. RIVER INTO LAKE A COOL IDEA?

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

In their quest to revitalize the Los Angeles River, city leaders are floating the idea of installing inflatable dams in the river channel to create a recreational lake.

That's how officials in Tempe, Ariz., transformed a dry, blighted riverbed into a popular recreational lake that draws 2 million visitors annually to sail, kayak and enjoy starlit dinner cruises.

Intrigued by Tempe's success, Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes invited the project manager to discuss the venture with local elected officials and community leaders on Dec. 11.

``We learned a lot from their approach and their tenacity to change the image of a location,'' said Reyes, chairman of the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the Los Angeles River. ``In our city we've made the river very undesirable.''

The Los Angeles River runs 51 miles, much of it a trickle through a concrete channel designed more for flood control than water quality. City and county leaders are dealing with varying deadlines over the next decade to reduce chemical pollutants and trash into the river. And community groups have been pushing for more park space along the waterway.

During the past few months, Reyes has visited cities across the Western states to assess how they have rehabilitated their rivers and successfully revitalized surrounding areas.

In addition to Tempe, Reyes was also impressed with the South Platte River Corridor project in Denver and the San Antonio Riverwalk in Texas, and may invite representatives from those cities to Los Angeles. The city is paying for the flight and hotel accommodations of the Tempe project manager.

In creating their recreational lake, Tempe officials relied on inflatable dams - technology that has already been used on a small-scale in Los Angeles waterways. Tempe installed a system of rubber dams to turn a 2-mile stretch of the Rio Saldado into Tempe Town Lake, which opened in 1999.

The Rio Salado through Tempe was once just a dry river bed, prone to occasional but destructive flooding and drawing illegal garbage dumping and homeless camps, Tempe spokeswoman Kris Baxter said.

``It's a fabulous restoration story. We're happy to lend our expertise wherever we can," she said.

Tempe city officials began discussing flood control and revitalizing the dry river starting in the 1960s, but plans never got past the study stages for lack of funding and lack of coordination between surrounding cities and agencies. Tempe took the reins of river revitalization in the 1980s and began building bike paths and riverside parks in the mid-1990s. The Tempe Town Lake opened to users in 1999.

Reyes said he was impressed that Tempe improved the river's environment while also planning shops, restaurants, offices and apartments for the blighted corridor.

The councilman envisions a similar tableau for the Los Angeles River, with recreation boats charting the river against a backdrop carved by the city's distinctive skyline and historic bridges.

``Tempe combined natural habitat with economic development strategies,'' Reyes said. ``When you attract people, you attract dollars.''

River activists generally support plans to rehabilitate the concrete channel, but at least one group is wary of Tempe's solution.

``Our goal over the long term is to get concrete out of the river,'' said Melanie Winter, with The River Project. And creating a man-made lake with inflatable dams may prevent that, she said.