Culver City Celebrates Stormwater Capture Project

CULVER CITY, CA —Culver City and the West Basin Municipal Water District co-hosted an event last Thursday celebrating the recently completed Culver Boulevard Realignment and Stormwater Capture Project.

The project, which took decades of design and years of construction, is a stormwater capture facility designed to advance water sustainability initiatives and address compliance with discharge water quality regulations, according to the City of Culver City. The project is part of the Ballona Creek Enhanced Watershed Management Plan.

The primary goal of the stormwater capture facility, according to those behind the project, is to utilize subsurface infiltration galleries to treat and reuse captured runoff for landscape irrigation and groundwater recharge, while significantly reducing pollutants entering local watersheds.

The city's stormwater capture infrastructure is expected to provide significant water quality benefits for Culver City and other jurisdictions within the watershed — including Beverly Hills — due to the tributary drainage area and location of adjacent storm drains, representatives from Culver City said.

Additionally, the project's road realignment component is designed to improve pedestrian safety and bicycle mobility, and to enhance aesthetics along Culver Boulevard from Elenda Street to Sepulveda Boulevard, said those familiar with the project.

"In order to protect water bodies like Ballona Creek and conserve precious rainwater, Culver City continues to make significant investments to advance stormwater quality and projects," Culver City Mayor Dr. Daniel Lee said. "Projects like ours not only capture valuable stormwater runoff for reuse, but also beautify our community."

Lee continued: "In addition, we serve as a positive example of a multi-benefit, multi-partner stormwater capture project that increases water supply, improves water quality, and provides community enhancements."

According to the city, the project cost nearly $14 million and was funded by contributions from: Culver City Measure CW funds, the City of Beverly Hills, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission Prop 1 and 84 grants, a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California grant, and Caltrans funding.

"The Culver City Stormwater Capture Project is truly a collaborative effort that can serve as a model for regional partnership and water stewardship and exemplifies multiple agency coordination to address local water supply sustainability and pollution control," said Scott Houston, a member of the Board of Directors of the West Basin Municipal Water District.

Houston continued: "West Basin commends Culver City and this project for better preparing our service area to capture local water supplies as we face recurring droughts and uncertainties associated with climate change."