Silver Lake Reservoir

Silver Lake Reservoir

View to the northwest across lower reservoir
Location Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Coordinates 34°06′04″N 118°15′54″W / 34.10107°N 118.26495°W / 34.10107; -118.26495Coordinates: 34°06′04″N 118°15′54″W / 34.10107°N 118.26495°W / 34.10107; -118.26495
Type Reservoir
Basin countries United States
Max. length 1.2 km (0.75 mi)
Max. width 500 m (1,600 ft)
Surface area 39 hectares (96 acres)
Water volume 3,000,000 m3 (2,400 acre·ft)
Shore length1 3.2 km (2.0 mi)
Surface elevation 433 ft (132 m)
References U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Silver Lake Reservoir
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Silver Lake Reservoirs comprise two concrete-lined basins, Ivanhoe Reservoir and Silver Lake, divided by a spillway, in the Silver Lake community of Los Angeles, California.

History

The lower body of water was named in 1906 for Water Board Commissioner Herman Silver, and in turn lends its name to the neighborhood.[1] The upper body received its name after the 1819 Sir Walter Scott novel Ivanhoe.[2]

The reservoirs are owned and maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), and could provide water to 600,000 homes in downtown and South Los Angeles;[3] however, only the smaller of the two, Ivanhoe, remains online. At capacity, it holds 795 million US gallons (3,010,000 m3) of water.[3] The Silver Lake Reservoir's water resources will be replaced by the Headworks Reservoir, an underground reservoir north of Griffith Park, slated for completion by December 2017.[4]

The reservoir is the focal point of the community and has evolved as a regional recreational resource. It is surrounded by several recreational areas, including a dog park on the south, a nursery school on the north, and the Silver Lake Recreation Center, which includes a basketball court on the south side of the lake. There is also a walking and jogging path, which stretches 2.2 miles (3.5 km) around the reservoir.[2] In April 2011, the City of Los Angeles opened up for public use a three-acre passive park on the east side of the lake dubbed the "Silver Lake Meadow," modeled after the Sheep Meadow in New York's Central Park. In January 2014, some local residents proposed transforming the Ivanhoe part of the reservoir into a public, beach-like swimming venue titled "Silver Lake Plunge" but informally dubbed "Hipster Beach."[5]

Environmental issues

Ivanhoe Reservoir after addition of shade balls

In December 2007, the DWP announced that the Silver Lake and Ivanhoe reservoirs had both become contaminated with unusually high levels of the cancer-causing chemical bromate, and were immediately isolated.[6] The reservoirs were both drained over several weeks in March 2008,[1] and refilled in May 2008.[3]

Two months later, 400,000 black hollow plastic shade balls were placed in Ivanhoe, which remains in use, to reduce the likelihood of the sunlight-fueled bromate. Silver Lake Reservoir was taken offline permanently.[7][8] This incident pointed out the necessity of protecting the water supply by using underground tanks. The black plastic balls were created in Allentown, Pennsylvania by Orange Products Inc. The balls are also used at airports to prevent birds from landing in water runoff, thus preventing birds from being drawn into aircraft engines. The balls were certified by NSF International which certifies the safety of food, water, and consumer goods. In February 2013 LADWP contracted with Glendora, California-based manufacturer XavierC LLC to supply an additional 6.4 million hollow plastic shade balls for reservoirs.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 LA Times article: "Silver Lake goes dry".
  2. 1 2 Take Sunset article: "13 Facts About The Silver Lake Reservoir".
  3. 1 2 3 LADWP press release: "LADWP Begins Refilling the Silver Lake Reservoir"
  4. ↑ LADWP fact sheet: Headworks Reservoir - Silver Lake Reservoir Complex Storage Replacement".
  5. ↑ LA Weekly article: "Silver Lake's 'Hipster Beach' Idea Is No Joke"
  6. ↑ LADWP press release: "Statement on Silver Lake and Elysian Reservoir Bromate Issue".
  7. ↑ KCBS-TV CBS 2 article: "400,000 Balls Get Dumped In Silver Lake Reservoir".
  8. ↑ LA Times article: "We are not making this up: Ivanhoe Reservoir in Silver Lake covered in little black plastic balls."
  9. ↑ "Listing Category Search Page | NSF International". Info.nsf.org. 2014-07-22. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
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