By Mary O’KEEFE

I know there are a lot of jokes about Californians and the rain but this last week was really no joking matter … we had rain that could rival any midwestern or desert monsoon. 

The rainfall totals according to Public Works Los Angeles from Nov. 11 to 18:

Descanso Gardens received a total of 5.01 inches of rain

Brand Park received 4.58 inches 

Eaton Dam received 5.50 inches

Eaton Fire/Burn Area received 6.58 inches 

La Tuna Canyon Debris Basin received 5.26 inches of rain 

Eagle Rock Reserve received 4.91 inches 

Los Angeles Ducommun Street 4.27 inches

“We are still tallying up the totals but the main message is this is one of the wettest Novembers on record,” according to NOAA.

And we aren’t done; there is another storm expected today. This one, according to NOAA, will not be as strong as the previous storm but it is still predicted to bring anywhere from a half inch to an inch of rain. We should see rain today and Friday then start drying up on Saturday and through the weekend. The temperatures will remain cool, from mid 50s to mid 60s. 

According to the LA Almanac, 2022-2023 saw the highest annual rainfall since 2005 with a year end total of 28.40 inches. This was followed by the total for the next year, 2023-2024, at 25.19 inches. Though totals for this year are not yet released, it appears that, based on the most recent data, rainfall totals lag behind previous years; 2024-2025 totals are currently 7.74 inches. This November will increase that total. 

Rain is wonderful; it feeds the Earth and it also washes away a lot of debris including litter – and a lot of that trash ends up in the ocean. 

When I started teaching Sunday school at my church, my teaching partner Vanessa and I wanted to focus on the environment and how we have this amazing gift that we had been given to protect – our Earth. We started a program called The Mountains to The Beach. We did this because we wanted kids to see how connected we are to the sea, how what we do here in our community affects the ocean and beach communities. So we started talking about where water goes and how when trash is thrown on the ground here in the Crescenta Valley it can eventually travel to the ocean through storm drains. We took the kids to the beach for cleanup days and they were amazed how much trash was there – and there was a lot of trash (come on – leave the place better than you found it for goodness sake; there are trash receptacles all over the beach – you pass them when you pack up to go home …. sorry, I digress)  not only from beach visitors but also from storms. We also looked at the storm drains and saw how much trash there that ultimately would float to the ocean. There were so many cigarette butts and bottle caps and paper from fast food places! 

Our kids learned that the saying “Earth in the balance” is actually true. When the balance is off in the landlocked areas, it affects all other areas of our environment. So not only did we pick up trash at the beach but we tried catching it in our community before it made its way to the sea. 

There are projects and studies underway, like in Orange County where local leaders are working on ways to stop the trash from making its way to the sea, especially during rains. There was a great story on KTLA that covered the efforts of stopping trash in the San Gabriel River from going into the sea. It was reported on Nov. 17. You can find it at https://ktla.com/video/efforts-underway-to-prevent-trash-in-local-streams-from-reaching-ocean/11271402/.

The idea is to intercept trash before it makes its way to the ocean, which can be done in a variety of ways. An organization that is working toward capturing the trash is The Ocean Clean Up. 

“To rid the oceans of plastic, we need to not only clean up what is already out there but also stop new plastic from entering the ocean. Working together with government leaders, individuals and private organizations, our goal is to tackle the most polluting rivers globally,” according to theoceancleanup.com.

It points out that not every place and everyone’s trash is the same and therefore there are some methods that work best to capture it, depending on the location. Some of those methods include interceptor barriers, which do exactly what you think: they stop trash from flowing. There are also interceptor barricades and interceptor guards – both of which are physical deterrents to trash flow. 

There are many other forms of trash interceptors and that field of technology is growing because the need is so great as our oceans continue to suffer from trash and, specifically, plastic waste. 

But the reality is we all can help by simply controlling our waste. Making sure that our trash is placed in trash receptacles, using reusable water bottles and being aware of what we purchase and how we can reuse items instead of throwing them out are just a few ways of controlling our waste. For example, and I have said this before, watch “The Repair Shop” and see how beautiful items that some would think have ended their usefulness are once again made whole. 

And organize a cleanup event in your community regardless of where you live and then participate in a beach cleanup to broaden your awareness of how we are all connected … through the trash we throw out. 

Remember, too, that the statement “the Amazon is the lungs of the Earth” is a bit of a misconception. All rainforests throughout the world must be saved. They store carbon, regulate climate and water and do so much more; however, our oxygen comes from our oceans.

“Your science teacher was right. Plants absorb CO2 and produce oxygen through photosynthesis. About one-third of land photosynthesis occurs in tropical forests and the Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical forest on Earth. But the cycle doesn’t stop there: almost all [about half] of the oxygen produced by plants is consumed by the plant itself [and the other half] by microbial organisms and insects as they decompose plant material. Forest fires also consume oxygen. As a result, the net production of oxygen by land ecosystems is close to zero (Malhi, 2019),” according to https://www.biodiversity.ox.ac.uk/research_stories/rainforests-are-not-the-lungs-of-our-planet/. 

“Scientists estimate that roughly half of the oxygen production on Earth comes from the ocean. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton – drifting plants, algae and some bacteria that can photosynthesize. One particular species, Prochlorococcus, is the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. But this little [bacterium] produces up to 20% of the oxygen in our entire biosphere. That’s a higher percentage than all of the tropical rainforests on land combined,” according to NOAA. 

So as the rain continues to fall, which we have today and Friday, take a moment and watch where the water goes as it travels down the streets into the washes. As I have written several times, the water that runs through the Verdugo Wash goes into the LA River and then into the ocean … again, why we cannot capture some of it for our ground use here is ridiculous but it is a long contracted, red taped nightmare that are the LA water rights.

My point is look into the washes and along the streets and the trash that is there; watch as it floats down to the storm drains – destined to end at the beach and the ocean. So be aware and be concerned because what happens in Crescenta Valley does not always stay in Crescenta Valley.