Water Learning Series: Los Angeles - Session Five with US Army Corps of Engineers

“What we can bring to the future of the river and urban waterways is engineering with nature…Engineering with nature is where we are trying to use more natural ways of solving the problem… working in unison with natural processes.”
–Megan Whalen, Ambassador for the LA River Watershed, US Army Corps of Engineers

Welcome to the year-long Water Learning Series: Los Angeles, where we will host 11 conversations with organizations, community projects, tribal organizations, activists, organizers, and leaders from LA and places impacted by LA’s water story.

We have reached the halfway point in the series with Session Five with the US Army Corps of Engineers. We are joined by Megan Whalen, who serves as the Ambassador for the LA River Watershed, and Hunter Merritt, who works as a social scientist.

This session continues to articulate the vision for the Water Learning Series, which is to highlight the people, agencies, and organizations that are instrumental in forming the map of LA’s water story. At the heart of this intention is the inquiry of supporting a water sufficient Los Angeles.

Session Five begins with a historical snapshot of the US Army Corps of Engineers and introduces the many projects in the Los Angeles district the Corps is currently involved in. Hunter and Megan break down and explain the concept of risk-management as one of the major responsibilities of the Corps, discussing the integral communication between agencies, partners, and the public to make informed decisions. Megan provides illuminating historical details about the LA River’s flow, its impacts on early residents of Los Angeles, and the Corps work in the 1930s channelizing and concretizing the river. Megan shares a hopeful vision for restoring natural processes and reviving the river through engineering with nature in collaboration with local partners, the Corps, and LA county residents.

Hosted by: Kate Bunney
Produced & Edited by: Anne Carol Mitchell
Intro music by: Mamuse 'River Run Free' - featuring Walter Strauss

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