WATER: FROM STORM TO TAP.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

Just in time for the start of rainy season, Los Angeles County officials marked the completion this week of a $7 million project designed to alleviate chronic flooding in Sun Valley.

Designed to capture and channel nearly 10 million gallons of storm-water runoff into underground aquifers each winter, the project includes a newly renovated Sun Valley Park.

``This is a very innovative and trailblazing approach to control storm- water runoff,'' Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said Friday.

``The traditional way the county has controlled storm-water runoff is to build huge channels and send the runoff to the ocean. We don't conserve water that way. We rip up neighborhoods, the construction period is extensive and expensive and it puts businesses out of business.

``This approach is a far more intelligent way.''

Officials said water recovered by the system will be enough to supply 60 families of four for a year.

The project includes a flood-protection system of 13 catch basins along Cantara Street north of the park. Storm water and runoff is collected and routed through three treatment devices designed to catch pollutants.

Before the water is sent to one of two infiltration basins, it is tested to ensure it is within acceptable standards for groundwater discharge. The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation is maintaining the water treatment system.

``This is the beginning of flood protection for residents of the Sun Valley community,'' said county Department of Public Works spokesman Kerjon Lee. ``It's a prototype in a series of 15 projects that will eliminate flooding in this chronically, flood-prone community.

``This one is unique in that it's a county-designed project that is on city property. And the thing that makes it unique in all the nation is that water is collected and treated on-site and will actually go to replenish the water supply for residents.''

The project was developed by the Sun Valley Watershed Stakeholders Group, which involves federal, state and local agencies, as well as environmental nonprofit groups and community members.

As part of it, a soccer field, sports lighting, landscaping enhancements, bleachers and fencing for a pre-existing baseball field have been added to Sun Valley Park.

Vegetated swales provide natural habitat and collect runoff from the street along the park's southern edge. The park, maintained by the city's Recreation and Parks Department, also has displays outlining a history of the project.

TreePeople, an environmental nonprofit group, funded the park amenities with a $473,000 California Parks and Water Bond 2000 grant.

``What's happening in Sun Valley is a model for how cities can cost-effectively solve multiple water problems with an integrated solution,'' TreePeople President Andy Lipkis said in a prepared statement.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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