The Japanese Garden and Sepulveda Basin

The quiet of the Donald C. Tillman Japanese Garden is an unlikely oasis in the middle of the concrete of the San Fernando Valley. The constant faint roar of the nearby 101 and 405 freeways and the hum of airplanes overhead are the only reminders of the busy heart of the Valley only a few blocks away. Named Suiho En, the garden of water and fragrance, it was completed in 1984.

The urban location isn't the only thing that makes the garden unique. The 6.5-acre garden shares an address and name with the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation plant next door, and uses only recycled water for all of its irrigation, ponds, streams and waterfalls. The sewage-treament plant treats up to 75 million gallons of water a day to the tertiary level, which means that it can be used for landscaping and water features.

The plant administration building occupies one corner of the garden, providing viewing balconies and a modern contrast to the traditional design. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed at the garden - it may be best known as the site of Starfleet Academy in the Star Trek television series.

Both the garden and plant sit behind the Sepulveda Dam, a 57-foot high earthen flood control dam on the Los Angeles River. The 2.25-square mile Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area behind the dam is only flooded during major storms, and contains picnic areas, hiking trails, ball fields, Lake Balboa and a 225-acre wild life reserve.

Much of the water released by the Tillman Reclamation Plant goes into the L.A. River and runs south to the ocean, but some of it is used to fill Lake Balboa and waterfowl ponds in the wildlife reserve. Over 200 species of birds have been seen in the basin.