Services are provided primarily to the unincorporated county with some services provided to contract cities. Flood control and watershed management services are provided to all of the county except the Antelope Valley.
As part of its flood control and water supply responsibilities, the Department of Public Works has 15 major dams and 27 spreading grounds in the county.[4]Pacoima Dam is one of the largest owned by Public Works and survived the Northridge earthquake in 1994 intact.
Water from the dams is released into flood-control channels and some is diverted into spreading basins where it percolates into the ground and recharges the groundwater. The surface water is not used directly as it requires more cleaning than groundwater. Near the coast, the department has constructed sea water barriers that use injection wells to create a fresh water barrier to prevent salt water intrusion from the ocean into the groundwater.[5]
The DPW is a leader in watershed management. It provides storm drain education programs, publishes and enforces best management practices for activities that may affect the watershed, and manages watersheds to provide a balance between flood control, recreation, and protecting the natural environment.
History
A Los Angeles County Department of Public Works sign along 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles.
The department was formed in 1985 in a consolidation of the county Road Department, the Flood Control District (in charge of dams, spreading grounds, and channels), and the County Engineer (in charge of building safety, land survey, waterworks).
For 25 years, the County Engineer Department was housed in the historic Higgins Building, a 10-story Beaux-Arts style commercial building that was designed and built by noted architect Arthur L. Haley and engineer Albert Carey Martin in 1910, at the corner of Second and Main Streets in Downtown Los Angeles. After "overseeing construction projects large and small from one of the city's strongest buildings, the county determined that the department needed more modern quarters and pulled up stakes in 1977," according to the Los Angeles City Planning Department, which designated the building as the Historic-Cultural Monument #873.
In 1977, the County Engineer Department moved to the corner of 5th Street and Vermont Ave., Los Angeles until the merge of the three departments. At that time the department was called the Department of County Engineer-Facilities.
In 1988, the department issued a demolition permit to tear down the historic Golden Gate Theater in East Los Angeles. Demolition commenced before officials led by then County Supervisor Ed Edelman halted the work with a stop-work order.[6] Demolition crews had already begun to dismantle the walls when Edelman, then Los Angeles City Councilwoman Gloria Molina, sheriff's deputies and more than 50 concerned community members showed up at the site to ensure the demolition work was halted. Edelman blamed a "foul-up" in the Public Works Department for issuing the demolition permit and assured the gathered crowd that heads were going to roll and that he would "try and stop this damn demolition before it happens."[6][7]
For years, the Flood Control District and the County Road Department were headquartered in buildings at Alcazar Street in East Los Angeles by the Los Angeles County General Hospital.
Major divisions of the Public Works Department were located at various locations in Los Angeles city for a number of years, until the 12-story glass building in Alhambra, California was purchased and refurbished. This tallest structure in Alhambra was formerly the western headquarters of Sears, Roebuck and Company, where some fixture units still bear the label "Sears". The steel frames were strengthened in 2006 after it was learned from the Northridge earthquake that the welded joints were not adequate to withstand a major earthquake.[8]
Administrative Services Division – provides contract support, fleet, procurement and warehousing services for the Department
Building and Safety Division – regulates construction on private properties
Business Relations and Contracts Division – consisted of two sections: Contract Section I and Contract Section II
Construction Division – advertises and awards public contracts and performs inspection, construction management, and environmental compliance during construction of public works projects
Design Division – designs departmental facilities
Environmental Programs Division – promotes recycling, and regulates underground storage tanks and industrial waste disposal
Fiscal Division – The Fiscal Division is responsible for the accounting, cashiering, billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, cost accounting, and fixed asset property records for the Department of Public Works.
Fleet Management Division (Fleet) – support Public Works’ operational divisions that provide critical services throughout the unincorporated county and 88 contract cities.
Flood Maintenance Division – flood protection, water conservation, groundwater recharge, runoff control, and storm-water quality are addressed and provided; along with proactively meeting or exceeding environmental and water quality regulations and standards.
Geotechnical and Materials Engineering Division – Ensures proper land development from geology and soils engineering to subdivision mapping standards
Land Development Division – regulates the developments in private lands
Project Management Division – manages capital project constructions for the County
Programs Development Division – manages funding programs and operates transit services in the unincorporated County
Road Maintenance Division – maintains the various streets and roads in the unincorporated portions of the County
Sewer Maintenance Division – operates and maintains sewers, pumping stations and sewage treatment plants
Stormwater Engineering Division – handles water conservation, and operates and maintains three seawater barriers
Stormwater Maintenance Division – operates and maintains dams, open channels, storm drains, debris basins, check dams and pumping plants
Stormwater Planning Division – handles strategic planning and multi-benefit project development for the Los Angeles County Flood Control District
Stormwater Quality Division – handles stormwater quality and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Program
Survey/Mapping and Property Management Division – provides survey services, maintains public land/survey records. Property Management includes title investigations, appraisal, project coordination, right of way engineering and acquisitions and dispositions.
Traffic and Lighting Division – handles the traffic controls and lights on the streets of the unincorporated portions of the County
^ abPenelope McMillan (1988-03-17). "Curtain Call for a Landmark Theater". Los Angeles Times. "Demolition crews had swept onto the site at the corner of Whittier and Atlantic boulevards Tuesday and Wednesday, and began to dismantle some walls. But they were halted by a stop-work order obtained from the county Public Works Department through the efforts of Supervisor Ed Edelman."
