Echo Park Lake

Urban Runoff Treatment

After talking to many of the senior design students, I decided to take a few pictures at the recently re-opened Echo Park Lake. This semester the Architectural Design 202 students will design a housing complex in Vernon on the eve of the many environmental scandals currently clouding that city. Their building site includes the L.A river which will serve as a great catalyst for more complex design solutions. 

Echo Park is where I spent all of my childhood. I still have a lot of family living there, so I visit pretty often. If you haven’t had the time to visit Echo Park Lake, I strongly suggest you do. It has recently gone through a complete renovation and revitalization.

Echo Park Lake acts as an urban runoff treatment. Storm water which carries everything from gasoline, motor oil, heavy metals, and trash eventually flow into this lake. Underground separators remove large debris while everything else enters the lake. The new wetlands introduced to the lake help remove left-over pollutants through natural processes. These pollutants settle into the wetland’s soil, which is then absorbed by the plants. The water is kept clean and circulated by a pump system back into the wetlands. 

The lake's ecosystem provides habitat for several different birds and fishes, including an enclosed island where Great Blue Heron nest. Echo Park Lake is famous for its paddle boats and Lotus Festival.

After my walk around the park, I walked a few blocks near Sunset Boulevard and snapped more pictures. The neighborhood is currently going through a cultural transformation, but that's a whole other conversation. Enjoy. 

By: E.G