Pacoima Wash

Pacoima Wash, 33 miles (53 km) long,^[1] is a major tributary of the Tujunga Wash, itself a tributary of the Los Angeles River, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County, California.

The stream begins at the Pacoima Dam Reservoir in the western San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest and proceeds south in a free-flowing stream alongside Pacoima Trail Road. From there, it joins several other unnamed streams that drain the nearby mountains, collecting at Lopez Dam. South of that dam, Pacoima Wash is encased in a concrete flood control channel, and travels south from Kagel Canyon in Sylmar though San Fernando, Pacoima, Mission Hills, Panorama City, and Van Nuys.

Just after Interstate 5, the stream branches off to the Pacoima Diversion Channel, joining Tujunga Wash further upstream. Just before Raymer Street, the stream also branches off to an unnamed channel joining Tujunga Wash. The main Pacoima Wash continues to Van Nuys Boulevard and is carried through a storm drain to join Tujunga Wash further south.

Recent history

In 1991, the section between Lassen Street and Parthenia Street was one of the last sections of natural stream beds in the San Fernando Valley to be made a concrete channel.^[2][3]

In 2007, the wash was cleaned up after being cited as a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus.^[4]

Pacoima Wash has been the site of several rescues of people, mostly of children and teenagers trapped in the spring runoff. Recent stories have appeared in 1985^[5], 1993^[6][7][8], 1995^{[9][10][11][12]}, 1996^[13], 1998,^[14][15] and 2006.^[16]

Crossings and tributaries

From mouth to source (year built in parentheses):^[17]

References

External links

• City of San Fernando Pacoima Wash Project
• Pacoima Beautiful - Pacoima Wash Vision Plan Initiative