Pasadena residents have one last chance this week to shape a $16.4 million public works project in their own neighborhood when the city’s Public Works Department hosts the final community outreach session on the Jefferson Park Stormwater Capture Project Wednesday at the Jefferson Branch Library.
After the two-hour pop-up ends at noon, the city has approximately two weeks to submit a community-supported concept for the project by July 31 to apply for design funding, according to a city press release.
The dual-component project would install a subsurface stormwater capture and infiltration gallery beneath the 4.4-acre Jefferson Park at 1501 E. Villa St., while the above-ground design is being shaped by residents from options that include, but are not limited to, new recreation areas and play structures, outdoor classrooms and enhanced urban greening, according to the city’s project page.
At Wednesday’s session, held in the library’s Children and Teen Services area at 1500 E. Villa St. from 10 a.m. to noon, Public Works staff will present a refined above-ground design that addresses feedback from three earlier events, the press release said. Admission is free. Project partner Amigos de los Ríos will lead youth-based educational activities exploring sustainability, watershed connections and native ecology.
The project targets a 567-acre drainage area, roughly 85.7% of which lies in unincorporated Los Angeles County — including terrain burned by and downstream of the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which burned 14,021 acres, according to CAL FIRE. Jefferson Park was identified in Pasadena’s 2022 Storm Drain Master Plan as one of 10 Priority 1 stormwater capture projects and is legally compelled by the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System permit.
The city has secured $441,000 for pre-design work — $250,000 in Measure W Local Return funds for the feasibility study and a $191,180 Public Education and Community Engagement grant from Los Angeles County’s Safe, Clean Water Program, awarded in June 2025, according to city officials. Design and construction funding for the full $16.4 million project have not yet been identified, according to the Fiscal Year 2026–2030 Capital Improvement Program.
The underground system would divert storm and dry-weather flows from the Sierra Bonita Avenue Rubio Wash Drain into an infiltration gallery designed to hold approximately 3.5 acre-feet — about 1.14 million gallons — per storm before recharging the Raymond Basin aquifer, according to the city’s project page.
“This funding is critical to ensuring the Jefferson Park project is not just environmentally effective, but also reflective of community priorities,” Public Works Director Greg de Vinck said of the grant in a March 2026 city press release. “Our goal is to engage residents throughout the planning process and shape a project that delivers real, lasting benefits to Jefferson Park.”
The Safe, Clean Water Program, created after Los Angeles County voters approved Measure W in November 2018, invests approximately $280 million a year in stormwater projects countywide. Craftwater Engineering is leading the feasibility study, with Dudek and Amigos de los Ríos supporting community outreach.
Wednesday is the last of four bilingual English/Spanish outreach events. Prior sessions included a guided walking tour at the park on March 12; an April 25 pop-up at Jefferson Park that drew about 30 attendees, which District 2 Councilmember Rick Cole attended, according to the city’s May 7 weekly newsletter; and a June 9 open house at Jefferson Branch Library.
The final Jefferson Park Stormwater Capture Project community event will run on Wednesday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to noon. Jefferson Branch Library, Children and Teen Services, 1500 E. Villa St., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 744-7311, visit bit.ly/JeffersonParkProject or email SWAdministrator@
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