Installation Of Barriers Begin Along Los Angeles River

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began installing barriers along the banks of a stretch of the Los Angeles River Thursday in anticipation of more El Niño storms.

More than $3 million in funds was awarded by the federal government to help improve the capacity of the river along a stretch near Griffith Park. The award was announced in the aftermath of a series of storms that filled the normally dry riverbed with rain runoff.

In addition to adding the barriers along the river banks, the local district of the Corps of Engineers will also be removing vegetation from the riverbed that could impede the flow of stormwater near Riverside Drive and the Zoo Bridge.

"El Niño has made the river unpredictable through the spring and will press us to our limits," Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

The city has been "gearing up" for the rains in recent months, clearing 40,000 storm drains and so far giving out half a million sand bags, he said, and the city's sanitation and street services departments have responded to hundreds of calls.

"This week's rain was just the beginning," Garcetti said last week. "It's critical that we remain poised, and that we remain ready."

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)