Sunday, February 15, 2009

Eaton Wash Reservoir February 2009

After a good rain, Eaton Wash Reservoir is a small lake. This is the reservoir looking eastward. On the far side a horse and rider are returning to the Eaton Dam Stables off of New York Drive. The reservoir was created in 1937 when the Eaton Wash Dam was built. It has a surface area of 54 acres.

It does not take long for birds to find water. These are Canadian geese and ducks at the water's edge. Lots of honking and quacking going on down there. I've seen long-legged herons in this spot too.

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About every thirty or forty years, plans are made to commit Eaton Wash and Eaton Wash Reservoir for public parks and trails. In 1932, Los Angeles County produced plans for the Eaton Canyon Park, which included the reservoir area and the wash down to San Pasqual St. Then, a 1967 City of Pasadena plan called for a series of trails down the wash and a wild bird preserve at the reservoir. Now, after a forty year hiatus in planning for the reservoir and wash new plans are again emerging. In 2007, Pasadena adopted the Parks Master Plan which recommended trails along the Eaton Wash. Exciting work is also being done by students in Cal Poly's Urban and Regional Planning Program who are at the leading edge of plans to restore southern California's natural waterways and create a trail system. The Arroyo Seco Foundation has more on plans to create a "golden necklace" of interconnected trails using natural rivers and waterways such as the Eaton Wash.

7 comments:

pasadenapio said...

We're getting ready to kick off the update of the Open and Space and Conservation Element of Pasadena's General Plan. Your readers can find more info here.

Anonymous said...

Interesting, so long as they keep things kind of wild and wooly. Technically, this area is part of Altadena, no?

Michael Coppess said...

I think the dividing line between Altadena and Pasadena is New York Drive. The reservoir is south of New York Drive, which makes it in Pasadena.

Cafe Pasadena said...

Yep, this is Pasadena. No way this could be mistaken for Alta Dena.

Anonymous said...

Do you know the story of why the stables north of the drive were torn down?

Anonymous said...

I guess you don't

Cafe Pasadena said...

Wow, almost a month since your last post. You must have a job where they want you to put in long hours.
Hopefully, it's nothing worst than that, like God forbid u lost your camera!