LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Los Angeles Councilman Mitch O'Farrell introduced a resolution Wednesday to have the city support any state or federal legislation that provides funding for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project.

The project would restore 11 miles of the river, from Griffith Park to downtown Los Angeles, including the creation and re-establishment of fresh water marsh habitat to support wildlife, according to the city's Bureau of Engineering.

Much of the 51-mile-long Los Angeles River functions as a storm channel, but the plan would accommodate recreational and natural uses of the river while maintaining the city's existing flood risk management levels.

"The primary purpose of the LARERR project is to re-establish riparian strand, freshwater marsh, and aquatic habitat communities and reconnect the Los Angeles River to major tributaries, its historic floodplain, and the significant ecological areas of the Santa Monica Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, Elysian Hills, and Verdugo Mountain," O'Farrell's resolution stated.

"The project will also provide new recreational opportunities consistent with the restored ecosystem, that will service historically disadvantaged communities with lower access to natural open space," it continued.

The project was proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and adopted by the city in 2016.

On June 29, 2016, the City Council approved findings of an environmental study of Alternative 20, which proposes about $1.3 billion of improvements to the river and adjacent areas, including restoration of the area's natural river habitat.

O'Farrell chairs the Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and River Committee.