The Sepulveda Dam is a

dry dam A dry dam is a dam constructed for the purpose of flood control. Dry dams typically contain no gates or turbines, and are intended to allow the channel to flow freely during normal conditions. During periods of intense rainfall that would otherw ...

constructed by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

to withhold winter

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

waters along the

Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...

. Completed in 1941, at a cost of $6,650,561 (), it is located south of center in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, approximately east of the river's source in the western end of the Valley, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Sepulveda Dam, along with Hansen Dam located in the north San Fernando Valley, was constructed in response to the historic

1938 floods Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

which killed 144 people. The dam's capacity would allow it to hold back roughly of runoff from the of catchment upstream. It was placed at what was the then-current edge of the city. East of the dam, the river was crowded into a narrow channel by the city's growth. The flood control basin is a large and undeveloped area in the center of the Valley, used mostly for wildlife refuge and recreation. After the 1938 Los Angeles River flood, the channelization of all the Valley's dry washes was created with dry, concrete-lined river bottoms. Currently these are being devolved in part as interconnecting bike paths. Behind the dam, the Sepulveda Basin is home to several large recreation areas including

Woodley Park Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Primarily residential, Woodley Park hosts a commercial corridor of restaurants and shops located along Connecticut Avenue. The neighborhood is noted as the home of the ...

, a model aircraft field,

The Japanese Garden The Japanese Garden is a public Japanese garden in Los Angeles, located in the Lake Balboa district in the central San Fernando Valley, adjacent to the Van Nuys and Encino neighborhoods. It is specifically on the grounds of the Tillman Water ...

, a wildlife refuge, a water reclamation plant, and an armory. The facilities are compatible with occasional inundation from reservoir impoundment.

History

When the 1914 flood caused $10 million in damages to the developing basin areas, a public outcry began for action to address the recurring flooding problems. During the following year, the Los Angeles County Flood Control District was formed. Some of the early flood control efforts included smaller areas of channelization and the planning for needed reservoirs. Taxpayers approved bond issues in 1917 and 1924 to build the first major dams. However, they were not willing to provide enough funding for the much needed and substantial infrastructure downstream of these dams. After two more destructive floods in the 1930s, most notably the 1938 flood, federal assistance was requested. The Army Corps of Engineers took a lead role in channelizing the river and constructing several dams which would create flood control basins behind them. Channelization began in 1938, and by 1960 the project was completed to form the present engineered waterway. Included in this work were

Hansen Dam Hansen Dam is a dam built for flood control in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, in the Lake View Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.Pitarre, Alyson. "Where country living sidles up to the city." ''Los Angeles Times''. June 12, ...

, completed in 1940 and followed by Sepulveda Dam in 1941. In 1973,

Burbank Boulevard Burbank Boulevard is a major east–west arterial road that runs for across the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles and Burbank, California, Burbank, California. Name Burbank Boulevard was named after David Burbank, a dentist and rancher whose ...

was built through the Sepulveda Basin, and Woodley Ave was also built in the recreation area in 1975. Woodley park picnic area

During the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place July 14–30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles ...

, the area around the dam will host Basketball (3x3), BMX/Cycling,

Modern Pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...

, and

Skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

Access

Transit users can exit the G Line at either

Balboa station Balboa station is a station on the G Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. It is named after adjacent Balboa Boulevard, which travels north–south and crosses the east–west transitway route. The station is in the Lake Balboa distric ...

or Woodley station.

Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area

The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area is a flood control basin in Encino managed by the

Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

Woodley Park

is a large

city park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...

located on Woodley Avenue between

Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

and

s. The

Leo Magnus Cricket Complex The Leo Magnus Cricket Complex (LMCC) or Sepulveda Basin Cricket Fields, aka Woodley Park, is a group of four Ground (cricket), cricket grounds located in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The facility is also ...

, a

dog park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

, and group picnic areas are within the park. The park was opened in 1975.

is a public

Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...

located on the grounds of the

Tillman Water Reclamation Plant The Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant is a Reclaimed water, water reclamation plant located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, United States. The plant was conceived of, designed and constructed by the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of E ...

adjacent to Woodley Park.The Japanese Garden website
. accessed 28 June 2016.

Lake Balboa Park

Lake Balboa Park, also known as

Anthony C. Beilenson Anthony Charles Beilenson (October 26, 1932 – March 5, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic Congressman from Southern California. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 unt ...

Park, is an park and water recreation facility with boat rentals and fishing. Lake Balboa is a lake filled with water reclaimed from the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.City of Los Angeles Parks Department: Lake Balboa Park (Anthony C. Beilenson Park)
It also has barbecue pits, children's play area, picnic tables, and covered picnic pavilions. There are many Flowering cherry trees (''Prunus serrulata'' 'Pink Cloud') in the park. The

Balboa Station Balboa station is a station on the G Line of the Los Angeles Metro Busway system. It is named after adjacent Balboa Boulevard, which travels north–south and crosses the east–west transitway route. The station is in the Lake Balboa distric ...

on the G Line is located at the north end of the park, at Balboa Boulevard.

Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve

The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is at the southeast end of the Sepulveda Flood Control Basin and Recreation Area.SepulvedaBasinWildlife.org: Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve website
/ref> It has two sections, the North Reserve and South Reserve, located north and south of

. Both have nature paths and hiking trails.Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve Trails Map
/ref> Access and parking are in eastern Woodley Park near to the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, or from Burbank Boulevard east of Woodley Avenue. Haskell Creek flows through the

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

, and there are several wildlife ponds. Over 200 species of birds have been seen in the basin. Many, attracted by the water, gather here during fall and spring migrations. The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve is an ongoing

habitat restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

project, with locally native California plants.Flora of the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve
/ref> Native trees include Fremont's cottonwood (''Populus fremontii''), Coast live oak (''Quercus agrifolia ''), Valley Oak (''Quercus lobata''), California Black Walnut (''Juglans californica''), and California sycamore (''Platanus racemosa'').

Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area Bike Path

The Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area Bike Path is a

bicycle path A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

route looping around the recreation area.L.A. Bike Paths.com: Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area Bike Path
/ref> This "very popular bike path" runs from Victory Boulevard near the San Diego Freeway (I-405), westward to White Oak Avenue, south on White Oak to

, east on Burbank to Woodley Boulevard, and north on Woodley returning to Victory Boulevard. Public access is continuous along it. The ride features no steep or sustained hills, and has a maximum grade of no more than 2%. A shorter route heads south on

Balboa Boulevard Balboa Boulevard is a major north–south street in the city of Los Angeles, and it cuts through many communities and is one of the main thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley. Name Balboa Boulevard was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, ...

, which crosses a natural stretch of the

that lined with native Arroyo willows,

California sycamore ''Platanus racemosa'' is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish . ''Platanus racemosa'' is native to California and Baja Califo ...

s, and other

California native plants California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...

. The bikeway "cruises around the Balboa Sports Center and several golf courses, and has several open areas with spectacular views of into the mountains to the north and east." The loop sections along Victory and Burbank can be frequented by joggers. The bike path can seasonally have burr-bearing weeds, which may cause flats in less durable tires. The Apollo II Model Airplane Field is visible from the path. There is ample free parking available in the public park, sports field, and/or golf course parking lots on Burbank, Woodley and Balboa Boulevards. "Not all of

he park’s bike paths He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

show up on the official city Rec and Parks map or Google maps. The bike paths connect to play areas along

Lake Balboa Lake Balboa is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. The area was previously part of Van Nuys.L.A. River), and to the cross-

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

Orange Line bike path." To access the park from the Orange Bikeway start at Victory Boulevard and Balboa Boulevard, go south, then turn east on a bike way. The Sepulveda Basin bike paths are accessible from Granada Hills via the Class III path on Woodley Ave.

Sepulveda Basin River Recreation Zone

The Sepulveda Basin River Recreation Zone extends from above

to the confluence of Haskell Creek below

. It is open for recreational non-motorized boating during the summer, with restricted access to some protected wildlife areas along the banks.

Other facilities

Other recreation facilities within the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area include: *Balboa Sports Complex, with a children's play area, community room, indoor gym; and lighted: baseball diamonds,

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

soccer field A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural turf or artifici ...

s, football field,

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

courts,

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, and volleyball courts. *Hjelte Sports Center, with softball diamonds. *Sepulveda Garden Center, a

community garden A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plot ...

with 800 garden plots on , and public activity center building. *Sherman Oaks Castle Park, with

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

, an arcade, and batting cages. *Encino Golf Course, Balboa Golf Course, and Woodley Lakes Golf Course (all 18-hole). *Apollo XI Field for

model airplane A model aircraft is a physical model of an existing or imagined aircraft, and is built typically for display, research, or amusement. Model aircraft are divided into two basic groups: flying and non-flying. Non-flying models are also termed s ...

s. Flying SoCal.com: Apollo XI Field at the Sepulveda Basin
/ref>

References

External links

Friends of the Sepulveda Basin
organization website
Friends of Lake Balboa
, organization website
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BIKE ROUTE
{{Olympic venues modern pentathlon Dams in Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles River Buildings and structures in the San Fernando Valley United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Parks in the San Fernando Valley Parks in Los Angeles Encino, Los Angeles Lake Balboa, Los Angeles Van Nuys, Los Angeles Dams completed in 1941 1941 establishments in California Geography of the San Fernando Valley Landmarks in Los Angeles 20th century in Los Angeles Moderne architecture in California PWA Moderne architecture in California Venues of the 2028 Summer Olympics Olympic skateboarding venues Olympic cycling venues Olympic basketball venues Olympic modern pentathlon venues