Los Angeles; Sepulveda Basin Wetland Project Is Scaled Back; Environment: Public concerns over the loss of recreation area prompt city to reduce 300-acre plan to filter treated sewage to 61 acres.: [Home Edition]

Plans to filter treated sewage in the Sepulveda Basin have been scaled back from 300 acres to 61 acres because of opposition to the loss of recreation area, Los Angeles city officials said Monday.

A study concluded that the smaller wetland project would allow the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys to meet goals for reducing nitrogen in treated waste water dumped into the Los Angeles River, said Adel Hagekhalil, project manager for the Los Angeles Sanitation Bureau.

The $10-million project would put up to 10 million gallons of treated sewage each day through wetlands and vegetation that would naturally filter out nitrogen before the water is blended with other treated effluent from the plant as it goes to the river.

"Hearing the community and the concerns they have about losing recreation space, we decided to look at an alternative," Hagekhalil said. "We think this is a compromise that addresses what the community wants and provides us what we need...