The Watershed Waste Recycling Station (WWRS) will be implemented by Agriculture Access (Project Coordinator), Bouquet Canyon Network (Private Property & Well owners), and the Angeles National Forest (Texas Canyon Fire-Station).  This project uses Fire-Stations within the Angeles National Forest to clean-up, process, and prevent waste and recyclable materials inside stream channels in order to protect water resources.

The goal of the WWRS is to mitigate and restore surface and ground water recharge within specific reaches of steam channels.  As native and non-native biomass debris fall into the stream channel, water flows are hindered.  This deposition of biomass accumulates naturally; however, after wild fires, flash flooding events, and/or unlawful human activities (dumping), large quantities of materials can significantly block water flows.  When water no longer flows downstream, the degradation and recycling of biomass is significantly slowed, disrupting the hydrology of watershed.  Ultimately, the entire native riparian habitat is altered, or completely lost.

The creation of the first WWRS for fire stations in the Angeles National Forest provides training, new protocols, and technologies for proactively abating blocked stream channels within the Bouquet Canyon Watershed.  By monitoring, prioritizing, and mitigating stream channel biomass and waste materials in situ, efficient methods to collect, remove, sort, and process these materials will be achieved.  The primary impact of the WWRS on the Bouquet Canyon watershed will be to significantly reduce debris, biomass, and pollution loads that hinder surface flows and reduce water quality.  A secondary impact will be the prevention of large fire and flooding hazards; which when left unchecked, could devastate the entire watershed ecology.  A tertiary impact will be to recycle all waste materials (biomass, aluminum, plastic, glass, and paint components) collected, in order to recover costs.  A final impact of the WWRS will be to prevent point-source pollution in the “headwaters” of our forest watershed.  Combined, all these impacts will prevent degradation, destruction, and loss of water resources within watersheds.

The proposed project will serve as a ‘proof of concept’ for a new holistic watershed management plan in southern California.  Each WWRS is tailored to a watershed’s specific size, location, and pollution level: “Low contaminated” watersheds will necessitate smaller, mobile recycling equipment; and “High contaminated” watersheds will require larger, more permanent waste and recycling equipment. However, the goal remains the same:  To restore natural surface waters, groundwater recharge, and protect the water resources for all living communities.