Echo Park Lake is no longer a lake, at least for the next few months.
Workers drained the local landmark as part of a two year, $65 million renovation and cleaning project.
Plans call for the city to add wetlands around parts of the lake which will add nutrients to the water and reduce the growth of algae and cut down on pollution.
"We've polluted this lake, it's lost its character," Councilman Eric Garcetti told KPCC radio. "It's time to bring it back to something that's healthy for the next hundred years," Garcetti said.
The city will also spend $1.5 million to restore and retrofit the historic Echo Park Boathouse, originally built in 1932, according to KPCC. Garcetti hopes the project will bring boating back to the lake.
Among the finds at the bottom: Hubcaps, traffic cones, shopping carts, pay telephones, toys, trashcans, and a few firearms, according to KPCC.
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