Holiday Lake Expected to Reopen in 1999

More than 15 years after an accumulation of silt forced the closure of Holiday Lake, swimmers and boaters will be able to return to Hansen Dam Recreation Area by the spring of 1999, Army Corps of Engineers officials said.

On Thursday, the Corps of Engineers signed a $7.6-million contract with Southwest Engineering Inc. of Santa Monica to complete the long-delayed project. The contract covers construction of a 1.5-acre lake for swimming, a 9-acre recreational lake, water treatment equipment, restrooms and landscaping.

“This is an extremely important milestone,” said Rep. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills). “It takes us one step closer to the day when Valley residents can swim, fish, picnic and relax at Hansen Dam.”

From the early 1950s to the early 1980s, swimmers, anglers and even water-skiers flocked to Holiday Lake, a 120-acre body of water that had formed naturally behind Hansen Dam in a large excavation pit.

However, Hansen Dam sits in a flood plain, and major floods caused the lake to be choked with silt and sediments. It was closed in 1982.

Despite protests from community leaders and politicians, no action was taken to restore the recreation area until the city of Los Angeles and the Corps of Engineers allocated $10 million to build the swimming and recreation lakes in 1994.

“This is especially important because it will be one of the few recreational activities readily accessible to families in the northeast San Fernando Valley,” Berman said.

By the time the project is complete, the total cost will be about $13 million, said Brian Moore, a deputy district engineer for the Corps of Engineers.

“We will be delighted to have this thing finished and operating,” Moore said. “It will fill a great need for recreation in the area.”

To avoid a repeat of the problems that forced Holiday Lake’s closure, the new lakes will be on higher ground and ringed by embankments.

“It should be well secure. It would probably take a 100-year event to have an impact,” Moore said.