LA, San Gabriel rivers to get ‘garbage connectors’ for ocean protection

The rivers that run through Los Angeles County have a bad reputation. Literally.

In most places, you’d be hard-pressed to wander the banks of the San Gabriel or Los Angeles rivers without encountering discarded water bottles, candy wrappers, golf balls, sad-looking teddy bears, and even shopping carts.

On the rare occasions when rain does wash over the desert, it sweeps all that debris into coastal areas where it drains – and out into the Pacific Ocean, wreaking havoc on the grounds where fish, sea lions and surfers play.

For the 2028 Olympics, a coalition of city, state, state and private partners hopes to change that by installing litter barriers in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, officials announced Wednesday.

The plan is to prevent hundreds of tons of trash from entering the ocean.

This “almost has a dreamlike quality to me,” Seal Beach City Councilman Joe Kalmick said at a news conference.

Having lived in the coastal town for more than 50 years, he wondered why nothing was done about the garbage washed up by the San Gabriel River.

“The problem always seemed too big and the solutions were out of reach,” he said. “I felt like Don Quixote.”

Then, about three years ago, he read an article about Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands that develops and deploys garbage collectors around the world. He reached out, but they were busy trying to clean up the Amazon River.

A few months later, he saw another story, in the Times, about an Ocean Cleanup-helmed interceptor installed in Ballona Creek, between Playa del Rey and Marina del Rey.

A trash interceptor designed by Ocean Cleanup was installed in 2022 at Ballona Creek.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Driven to act, she began reaching out to other elected officials and officials, including Assemblywoman Diane Dixon, a Republican who represents much of coastal Orange County. He then created the San Gabriel River Working Group.

Fast forward to today, feasibility studies for the San Gabriel River and Los Angeles projects have been completed, and the Ocean Cleanup is in place.

Officials described it as a milestone, but far from the finish line. Challenges lie ahead, including obtaining approvals from multiple government agencies.

There is also a community of green sea turtles living in the salt flats along the San Gabriel River – something many Angelenos are unaware of. Stakeholders emphasized the need to protect around 100 turtles as the project progresses.

In February, Porkchop, a rescued sea turtle, was released into the San Gabriel River.

(Josh Barber / Aquarium of the Pacific)

Soft animals tend to get tangled in garbage. Porkchop, a turtle rescued from the river last year, lost a wing after a fishing line entangled the limb.

He was rehabilitated and released by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, which is now caring for another turtle found stuck in debris.

This one, a 200-plus-pounder named Meatloaf, similarly suffered a flipper injury. This time, the aquarium staff tried to save it.

“Our veterinary staff is using amazing treatments to help him through that treatment,” said Cassandra Davis, the aquarium’s director of volunteer services. “Basically you get a spa treatment every Tuesday.”

Although the garbage disposal device would help the reptiles, officials said it would need to be placed so that it does not harm them.

James Patterson, who oversees Ocean Cleanup operations in LA, said the nonprofit is reviewing research by the aquarium and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to guide the program.

“At every step of the way, these sea turtles are taken into consideration,” he said.

Collecting trash from local rivers sounds great, but how does it work?

James Patterson, right, Ocean Cleanup operations manager, speaks during a press conference at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

After the news conference, Patterson led a field trip to the working contact center at Ballona Creek. That one goes by the name 007, although it’s not related to James Bond.

The role of the interceptor is not evident in the nearby coastal road, where people were cycling, walking and fishing on a cool spring day. It looks like a strangely shaped boat with a floating arm sticking out to the end of the rocky shore.

But when it rains, it starts working. If rain is forecast, divers are called in to stick a barrier across the river, creating a debris funnel.

As trash flows down the river — from Westside communities like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Venice — it’s picked up by a conveyor belt. Materials are disposed of in six bins located in the middle of the connector.

Once they have reached their capacity of about 20,000 kilograms, the barge tows everything to the dock and a crane removes the nets.

Since the hopper was installed in 2022, it has collected more than 200 tons of trash, officials said.

007 represents just one model; every river is different and requires a unique setup, according to Patterson.

Thumper and Finn play among the trash on a sandbar in the San Gabriel River.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“One of the challenges with the LA River and the San Gabriel River is the sheer volume of trash” that comes down, he said. “We need a good way to get rid of trash that can actually get rid of trash in a very quick amount of time.”

Therefore, the best design for these rivers may be to transfer waste directly to the shore. A nonprofit organization is looking into that now.

The upfront cost of each interceptor is estimated at $5 million to $8 million, while ongoing operation costs about $3 million to $4 million annually, according to public works officials. Los Angeles County will pay for the operation.

The day of completion of the wishes is scheduled to coincide with a time when eyes from all over the world will be on the Los Angeles region, including its famous beaches.

Long Beach will host many events during the Olympics, including open water swimming, rowing and sailing. Just as the sporting event spurred the development of museums and the Metro, it’s a push to make sure the beaches are camera-ready.

“We want to make sure we present the best to Los Angeles and Long Beach, and that includes clean, healthy, and beautiful beaches,” said Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.