This flag design was proposed by Ricardo Tomasz. It is designed to represent the Los Angeles River that stretches across the entire city.

The Los Angeles River (L.A. River) starts in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly 48 miles (77 km) southeast to its mouth in Long Beach. Several tributaries join the once free-flowing and frequently flooding river, forming alluvial flood plains along its banks. It now flows through a concrete channel on a fixed course, which was built after a series of devastating floods in the early 20th century.

Environmental groups, park advocates and city council members support^[4] the removal of concrete and the restoration of natural vegetation and wildlife. Portions of the river now have earthen bottoms and restored habitat. There are also plans for a series of parks along the river’s city frontage in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles River also flows through several Los Angeles County communities and has been featured in many Hollywood films.

Before the opening of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the river was the primary source of fresh water for the city. Although the Los Angeles region still gets some of its water from the river and other local sources, most comes from several aqueducts serving the area. The river suffers pollution from agricultural and urban runoff.

Fed primarily by rainwater and snowmelt (in winter and spring), the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys (in summer and fall), and urban discharge, it is one of the few low-elevation perennial rivers in Southern California. Some water usually reaches the sea, even in the driest summers; although there are historical accounts of the river running dry, there has been flow every month since recording of stream flow began in 1929.^[3] This is helped by the concrete channel, which limits absorption of water into the earth. Flow, while generally low in volume, can be extremely brisk even in summer.

Why Flags Matter

Why Los Angeles Needs A New Flag

As was stated in the recent online petition:

There is no doubt that we are one of the greatest, most influential cities in the world. Wired Magazine recently named us the “#1 City of Tomorrow,” and even the New York Times admitted, “Los Angeles is enjoying a renaissance with a burgeoning art, fashion and food scene that has become irresistible to the culturally attuned.” But the one thing we’re missing, the one thing every great city deserves, is a great flag. Our current flag is neither recognizable, nor symbolic, nor representative of us, as a city or as Angelenos. Most people don’t even know it, and because they don’t know it, they don’t fly it.

Sign the online petition and click below to purchase a memento of your favorite design.