As the winter storms of El Niño began to pummel Southern California this week, Los Angeles County officials said federal funding to clean out debris from the Los Angeles River and control flooding has not materialized.
Officials with the county Department of Public Works said Tuesday that they had learned the day before that the Army Corps of Engineers had not received the $4.5 million needed to do maintenance on the river basin in the lead-up to El Niño.
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The county’s elected supervisors voted to send a letter to Congress and to the assistant secretary of the Army calling for them to immediately appropriate the funding needed for the area of the river between its Burbank western channel and the 2 Freeway.
“Without this maintenance, this portion of the Los Angeles River will only provide a low level of flood protection, which is especially critical under the current El Niño conditions,” supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl wrote.
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A rainbow forms over homes on Porter Ranch Drive in Porter Ranch on Jan. 7, 2016.
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A rainbow fills the sky above the Thomas Aquinas College in the Topatopa Mountains near Santa Paula Thursday afternoon.
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People enjoy the sunset at Hill Top Park in Signal Hill.
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A big northwest swell combined with a high tide on Thursday morning along the southern California coast resulting in seaside communities being battered. Faria Beach in Ventura County was one of the areas especially hard hit.
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Carlos Pereira, left, tries to clean up an oceanfront deck that was pummeled through the night by big waves.
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A big northwest swell combined with a high tide on Thursday morning along the southern California coast resulting in seaside communities being battered. Faria Beach in Ventura County was one of the areas especially hard hit.
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A surfer catches a wave at Sunset Beach in the Pacific Palisades.
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A passing storm, as seen from the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, makes its way over Los Angeles on Thursday.
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A passing storm provides the backdrop for passengers waiting for a train at the La Cienega/Jefferson station on the Metro Expo Line in Culver City on Thursday.
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Birds flock to trash near the mouth of the Los Angeles River, a site where tons of trash and debris have piled up after two days of heavy rain from El Niño-generated storms.
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Bitelio Ramirez looks out Thursday over trash that has piled up near the mouth of the Los Angeles River after two days of heavy rain. A worker on the scene said two cranes were being used to lift out about 300 tons of trash.
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Trash floats up against a boom near the mouth of the Los Angles River on Thursday after two days of heavy rain.
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A woman with her dog goes for a morning walk on snow covered and closed to traffic Glendora Ridge Road in Mt. Baldy.
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Leah Weischedel, 2, walks on freshly fallen snow on Thursday morning in Mt. Baldy.
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Mike Weischedel throws a shovel full of snow into his truck to take home to Upland Thursday morning in Mt. Baldy.
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San Bernardino County surveyors work with a snow-covered Mount Baldy as a background on Thursday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Forceful and beautiful waves crash into the sea walls of homes at Mondo’s Beach under the mountains of the recent Solimar fire at high tide sunrise west of Ventura Thursday morning.
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Photographer Dan Dolinh takes photos as the Ventura Pier is pounded by heavy surf Thursday morning.
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A surfer catches a wave at Topanga State Beach as El Nino storms brought high surf to area beaches.
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A body boarder is tossed from his board in heavy surf off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning.
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A surfer gets a tube ride off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning.
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A surfer is tossed from his board in heavy surf off the Seal Beach Pier Thursday morning.
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Large boulders block Santa Susanna Pass Rd. two miles west of Topanga Canyon after a rain-soaked hillside slid onto the roadway in Chatsworth.
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A man walks along an old Union Pacific Bridge as the Los Angeles River flows in South Gate.
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Heavy rain pours on Wayne Bearden and Laura Marin as they try to stay warm with a pot of coffee at their San Gabriel River adjacent encampment during the second major El Nino storm.
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Debris gathers along Silverado Canyon Road in Orange County after another El Niño storm brought heavy rains to the area Wednesday.
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A Caltrans worker toils to clear drains on a flooded Interstate 5 in Sun Valley, Calif.
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CHP officers limit traffic on a flooded Interstate 5 to one lane in each direction as Caltrans workers work to clear drains in Sun Valley, Calif.
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Heavy snow fall in Wrightwood.
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Homes at Mondo’s Beach between the Solimar and Faria Beach communities west of Ventura have their sea walls tested Wednesday morning, as the third storm this season’s El Nino moves in with more rain and heavy surf.
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Due to heavy snow fall people visiting Wrightwood are required put on snow chains on their vehicles.
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Visibility is down due to heavy snow fall in Wrightwood.
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Heavy snow fall blankets an old truck in Wrightwood.
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A Caltrans worker toils to clear drains on a flooded Interstate 5 in Sun Valley, Calif.
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CHP officers limit traffic on a flooded Interstate 5 to one lane in each direction as Caltrans workers work to clear drains in Sun Valley, Calif.
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A tree fell on a car on Beverly Glen Blvd. at Windtree Dr. in the Hollywood Hills.
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William McPhie, 12, of Manhattan Beach, walks home through a flooded Poliwog Park.
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Vehicles navigate a flooded 101 Freeway at California Street in downtown Ventura after heavy rains Wednesday.
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A large tree fell in front of the Sherman Village complex on Moorpark Street in Sherman Oaks.
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A man points his umbrella against the wind at King Harbour in Redondo Beach.
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Scott Hesford-Hensler, left, plays in the rain with his son Jayden, 5, and wife Danielle, right, at King Harbour in Redondo Beach.
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Los Angeles Fire Department swift water rescue personnel deploy along the LA River after a report of a child in the water in Winnetka, Calif.
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Diane Travis of Angeles Forest service removes snow from her vehicle above Wrightwood at Mountain High.
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Snow boarders and skiers take advantage of fresh snow as they wait for Mountain High West to open on Wednesday morning.
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Birds soar above the Los Angeles River in Vernon after a rainstorm.
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A man watches a memorable sunset that ended a mostly rainy day in the Los Angeles area as the first big storm of El Nino rolled through the area.
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Azusa residents pause to take photos of the sunset minutes after a storm front moved past Sierra Madre Ave.
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Trash collects on the banks of the Los Angeles River after a heavy rainstorm passed through the area, raising the water levels in the river in Vernon.
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San Dimas Public Works Supervisor Terry Gregory cleears a clogged drain from North San Dimas Canyon Road as heavy rains cause clogged drains and mud flows in San Dimas, Glendora and Azusa.
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Visitors to Angels Gate Park in San Pedro are framed between the sea and sun-tinged clouds as the first storm of El Nino blows ashore.
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Firefighters and rescue personnel work at the scene after a big rig crashed through the center divider crushing a car underneath and causing four other vehicles to collide on the rain slicked 60 freeway near the Garfield Exit in Monterey Park, Calif.
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A driver braves a flooded section of Avenue 26 in Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Yasmin Fernandez is carried away by Los Angeles Firefighter Jose Rodriguez after her car was caught in a flooded section of Avenue 26 in the Lincoln Heights in Los Angeles, Calif.
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Felipe Flores Lopez, 59, tries to stay afloat on a bed at his homeless encampment as rainwater floods a section of Avenue 26.
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Octavio Angulo (jumping) and Mike Patel had to abandoned their vehicle on South Hotel Circle in Mission Valley Road when the flooded road stalled their vehicle in San Diego, CA
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Felipe Flores Lopez, 59, tries to secure his homeless encampment as water begins to flood on Avenue 26.
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Crews remove mud flows across a road during a flash flood watch in the Silverado Canyon burn area. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A homeless man seeks shelters beneath the 405 Freeway along Venice Boulevard as the first of several El Niño storms hit Southern California.
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A Los Angeles County Public Works plow removes rocks from rain-soaked Malibu Canyon Road.
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A crew with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors bags sand along Zuma Beach.
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CHP Sgt. Joe Davy uses a shovel to try to clear a drain on the southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway of mud from the recent Solimar Fire runoff that flowed over the freeway, closing lanes.
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Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach is deserted and flooded, as a storm descended over southern California.
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Valentina Flores,2, of City of Commerce, enjoys a puddle in the Little Tokyo area of downtown Los Angeles, Calif.
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Los Angeles sheriff deputy Michael Galvan, left, warns a couple living under Freeway 5 about flooding danger along the San Gabriel River.
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Vehicles traveling in the southbound lanes of the 101 freeway crawl through one lane after mud from the recent Solimar Fire flowed over the freeway closing lanes.
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Los Angeles County Public Works road plow removes rocks off a rain-inundated Malibu Canyon Road in Malibu.
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Members of the California Conservation Corps clear drains along Silverado Canyon Road in Orange County, Calif.
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A black Mini Cooper is stranded in high standing water on Burbank Blvd near Balboa Golf Course in Encino.
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Los Angeles county public works department workers clean an outlet drain at Easley Canyon debris basin in Glendora.
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Jason Rivas works with sandbags in front of homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs. Residents are under a voluntary evacuation order.
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Joe Milos works with sandbags at homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs as light showers fall.
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Rain water runs off the roof of red tagged homes along San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs Tuesday morning.
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Vehicles are slowed for miles on both North and South bound lanes of the 101 Freeway at Solimar Beach in western Ventura County as mud from the recent Solimar fire covers all lanes Tuesday morning.
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Looking North, as vehicles are slowed for miles on both directions of the 101 Freeway at Solimar Beach in western Ventura County as mud from the recent Solimar fire covers all lanes.
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People in Long Beach deal with rainy weather during the first strong storm in what is predicted to be a strong El Nino event in Southern California.
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A kite surfer in Long Beach makes use of the wind during the rainy weather brought by the first big storm of the new year.
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A front-end loader and dump truck work to move beach sand to protect vulnerable areas from flooding in Long Beach.
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An elderly woman navigates a wet parking lot in Fountain Valley as storms were expected to barrel into Southern California in earnest Tuesday morning.
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Commuters navigate the southbound 405 Freeway in Costa Mesa. Rain is expected to continue through the end of the week.
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Carol Roberts, who said she has lived in Camarillo Springs for over 20 years, walks her dog Kayla past red-tagged homes along San Como Lane where residents were under a voluntary evacuation order due to approaching storms and unstable soil conditions.
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Homeowners association president Barbara Williams, left, counsels Carol Roberts to be ready to leave the neighborhood if mandatory evacuations are ordered.
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Glendale resident Linn Neidengard picks up sandbags provided by the city to protect his home from looming rains.
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Noah Cowan of Long Beach, fills sandbags along with others as they prepare for the arrival of the first major storm of what is expected to be a strong El Niño weather event in Southern California.
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John Ward, 66, left, and his son Jacob, 37, center, load sandbags along with fellow Glendora residents ahead of heavy rains forecast this week.
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The Solimar Beach fire burn area in Ventura County is being monitored for possible mud and debris flows with the coming rain.
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Two people take in a view of downtown Los Angeles from Montecito Heights as a storm front creeps into the Southland on Jan 3.
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People walk and bike under blue-gray skies in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4 as a series of storms were forecast for Southern California.
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With rain in the forecast, Geme Gemayoa is bundled up in downtown L.A. on Jan. 4.
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Los Angeles City Hall is surrounded by cloudy skies in a reflection in the windows of the new U.S. Courthouse under construction on Jan. 4.
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Karin Mitchell loads sandbags into the trunk of her car in Glendora, where residents were preparing for possible heavy rains.
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Four-month-old Kwasi Youngblood is carried by his mother, Darchelle Youngblood, in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4. Youngblood said she is ready for the cold and wet weather predicted for Southern California.
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Two women enjoy some sunshine in downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 4, before wet weather is set to arrive later in the week.
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Antonio Dominguez, 44, of Pacoima, goes for a bike ride under partly cloudy skies above Hansen Dam in Lake View Terrace on Jan. 4.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Timesl) But the supervisors also took county staff to task for not alerting them sooner that the funding was in question.
“Right now, we’re playing catch-up in the middle of a storm,” Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said. “It’s that type of lack of planning that I get frustrated with.”
Officials with the Los Angeles district of the Army Corps of Engineers said they are still seeking the $4.5 million to complete the priority clean-up projects in the river, but the needs of Los Angeles are in competition with other areas that have already been hit with severe flooding.
“We’re competing against flooding in the state of Missouri, state of Texas and Illinois,” said deputy district engineer David Van Dorpe. “They have flood damages, and we’re trying to make sure we don’t have a bad situation here.”
In the meantime, he said the district had shifted about half a million dollars that would have gone to other maintenance projects to work on clearing portions of the L.A. River basin.
“We’re going to reschedule the work we had planned this year to address the highest-priority items,” he said.
County staff have been doing work to clean out other flood basins and storm drains around the county to control flooding. Public Works Director Gail Farber said they had also closed some mountain roads and bike paths along the rivers.
“We expect road flooding and hazardous driving conditions,” she said.
Sheriff’s deputies and outreach workers have also been combing riverbeds for the last few months seeking to persuade homeless people camping there to move into shelters or to other sites ahead of the rain and potential flooding.
Sheriff’s officials said Tuesday that they had seen a significant reduction in the number of people camping in the San Gabriel riverbed since the summer.
The supervisors voted last year to extend the county-funded portion of the countywide winter shelter program by two months and to increase the number of beds funded to 861 from 600.
On Tuesday, they also voted to put $2 million toward interim and permanent housing for people living in shelters and on the streets. The supervisors asked that the money go particularly to get homeless women off the streets.
A report by county officials is expected out later this week that will lay out long-term strategies for addressing homelessness and will help county supervisors develop a plan for spending $100 million set aside for the purpose last year.
More than $20 million of that money has already been parceled out ahead of the report’s release, but the $2 million approved Tuesday came from a separate pot of discretionary money from Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ district.
Twitter: @sewella
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