The Silver Lake Reservoir will be refilled, City Councilman David Ryu said Thursday at a local townhall, reassuring hundreds of neighbors whose views of a lovely lake have been replaced with a big dirt pit.
But it probably won't happen until next spring. City officials are still trying to figure out where to get the water and how high to fill the reservoir, which was drained last summer to comply with new federal drinking water rules that forbid untreated, uncovered open air reservoirs.
Ryu spoke to hundreds of residents packed into Micheltorena Elementary School for a meeting on the reservoir's future. Local activists called Refill Silver Lake Now passed out stickers and talked about the ducks that have begun wandering the neighborhood since the reservoir was drained last summer.
Before the reservoir can be refilled, construction in the lakebed must first be completed on pipes that will carry drinking water to a new underground storage facility under construction near Griffith Park. That facility will replace Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs. And, with the reservoir’s connections to the local water supply disconnected, new pipes will have to be installed to cycle water in and out of the lake. Otherwise, the stagnant water will quickly become laden with bacteria and algae. That’s expected to add a few months to the lake’s time as an empty hole in the ground.
Adams said water could once again cover the floor of the reservoir in May or June of 2017.