LOS ANGELES >> A state Assembly committee voted 12-0 Wednesday to pass legislation that will provide more resources and assistance to the Pacoima Wash and Tujunga Wash in the San Fernando Valley.

The bill, AB 466, was approved by the Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee and seeks to create a working group modeled after the “Lower L.A. River Working Group,” which was established in 2015.

“The L.A. River and its tributaries once flowed freely through the Los Angeles Basin, winding from the San Fernando Valley out to the ocean in Long Beach,” said Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, D-Pacoima, who introduced the bill. “The need to control the river’s flooding drove the Army Corps of Engineers to line the river and its tributaries with cement, stripping these waterways of their natural beauty.”

He added, “This is an opportunity to create a safe, well-maintained open space for the people of the northeast San Fernando Valley, who crave for more recreation areas. Creating a working group for these vital L.A. River tributaries will give our community a voice to improve our waterways and transform them into beautiful, green open space.”

The Lower L.A. River Working Group is made of representatives of the different cities the L.A. River flows through, including Los Angeles, Vernon and Long Beach, as well as various community organizations and three Los Angeles County districts. Its purpose it to develop a revitalization plan for the lower river.

“The creation of the Los Angeles River Tributaries and Watershed Working Group demonstrates that the important role of the Pacoima and Tujunga Wash play in hydrology in Southern California is finally being recognized,” said Veronica Padilla, executive director of Pacoima Beautiful, who added that the group “has advocated for a greenway to be created along these waterways for over a decade and we look forward to working with Assemblymember Bocanegra on creating a green network along our tributaries linking the San Fernando Valley with the rest of our region.”