The L.A. River is constantly changing, but tools to to monitor and measure those changes in real-time have not been implemented to date. The L.A. River Observatory is developing real-time monitoring systems that will help guide the design and implementation of restoration projects.
The Approach
Understanding, measuring, and monitoring the river and how it changes over time, including during flood events, is critical information for any new design and restoration projects. The L.A. River Project team is leveraging existing technologies — including drone surveys and satellite images — to generate new insights into the river. The newly established “L.A. River Observatory” will collect and compile this data, along with other measurements such as water flows, in a publicly accessible website for use by government, community members, and nonprofits.
The data collected in the observatory will inform ongoing and future design work on the L.A. River. More granular understanding of the vegetation, water flows, and temperature variation will allow engineers, landscape architects, and ecologists to more effectively revitalize and design for current and future river conditions. This valuable data collection will seek to build evidence for nature-based solutions in rivers even beyond L.A.
Data collection efforts include:
- Water flow measurements
- Vegetation mapping (where it is and what species are represented)
- Water depth measurements
- Ecological monitoring (how suitable a habitat is this for species such as steelhead trout)
- Water temperature
- Biodiversity measurements (what can the soundscape tell us about what species are present)
The Results
Coming soon – the LA River Observatory website.
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