Headworks Reservoir Under Construction In Burbank

BURBANK (CBSLA.com) — The Headworks Reservoir, a $220 million project to protect the water supply for years to come, is under construction in Burbank.

KCAL9's Randy Paige reported that what will be two underground buried reservoirs, located south of the 134 Freeway on the border of Griffith Park, is all to replace the Silver Lake open-air reservoir.

Martin Adams, the director of water operations for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, said the facility is critical to the Southland.

"This encloses the storage that has been open-air since the early 1900s at Silver Lake Reservoir. It puts it in a box. It [makes] it secure from the environment around it, secure from any influences from the outside. We have nice, safe, reliable drinking water for the citizens of Los Angeles," he said.

Paige reported the new reservoirs will be covered with dirt, so they will be invisible to the naked eye.

The surrounding area will then be restored to a wetlands park and look much like it did a century ago.

"You'll see horses going around, you'll see a bicycle path going by, people enjoying the surface of the tanks, as well as enjoying nature down at the park and reconnecting with some of the history of the river," Adams said.