I am four days out from my trip down the LA River and she's still stuck in my head - literally. I acquired a sinus infection and some GI stuff, but I'm on the mend. There is still much to learn from this trip, but I feel that I am getting somewhere. Angelenos need to begin their reclamation of the river. We all need to spend more time around it and make our presence known.  We need to take the river back first and then we need to ask for the powers that be to fix what they broke.

This comment chain from Eric Spilman's KTLA blog pretty much sums up how Angelenos (including me) see the LA River:

Eric, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "LA River" part of the sewer system? I'm not trying to sink your boat but maybe the city doesn't issue a permit because they know what's floating in the water's depths.The mouth of the river opens to the ocean near CSULB campus. I used to watch that beautiful river often and while birds swim unimpeded during certain times of the year, I never saw kayaks, canoes or paddle boats, which you'd readily find blocks away off 2nd Street. Posted by: jozielee | July 29, 2008 at 11:13 AM

i agree. we still need the flood control, but why can't we at least boat on the Glendale Narrows, which is a nice stretch w/ actual rapids that's part concrete (for flood safety) and part natural (for recreational purposes)? what's wrong with that as a compromise? Posted by: bon | July 31, 2008 at 09:24 AM

just noticed the previous comment above. actually, depending on where you are on the river, the water quality varies widely -- from "near drinking water" coming out of the Tillman Treatment Plant in the Valley to horribly skanky near Willow Street in Long Beach. Generally speaking though, where there's nature, there's better water quality. big surprise? Posted by: bon | July 31, 2008 at 09:28 AM

No Jozilee, the sewer system has its own separate infrastructure. The LA River is an actual river (and the main reason the pueblo was founded here) and was the city's primary water source until Mulholland's aqueduct started sucking Owens Valley dry and the Corps of Engineers turned a beautiful resource into a means to throw every drop of rainwater AWAY rather than maintain it here for drinking supply. A move that's starting to look pretty retarded as climate change and drought set in and the courts have begun restricting our ability to import water from NorCal and Colo.

Expedition media links:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/07/dear-feds---tur.html

http://laist.com/2008/07/26/kayaking_the_la_river_part_1.php
http://laist.com/2008/07/27/kayaking_the_la_river_part_2_east_v.php
http://laist.com/2008/07/28/kayaking_the_la_river_day_3_marsh_p.php
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/07/kayakers-to-pad.html
http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/la-river-really-floats-their-boats/19347/