Whether simple letters or elaborate colorful designs, tagging or graffiti is considered vandalism and is getting a cover up along some 100 miles of rivers, creeks, washes and channels of the Los Angeles County drainage area and Santa Ana River Basin. Crews from Corv. Engineers contractor BJD resourcing are removing graffiti by water blasting rock-grouted surfaces. Other areas where it's a concrete wall or concrete in bankment, we go ahead and cover it over with an approved paint. A one-year 837,000 dollar contract funded by the Recovery Act was awarded to this small San Fernando business to not only tackle a community nuisance but give people jobs. Through this we've brought on four crews. It's given a new employment to about eight personnel and it's reorganized about three to four other personnel. BJD's four crews armed with two generator-powered sprayers and 135 gallons of paint each cover a total of about 810,000 square feet of concrete canvas per day. Not necessary to maintain channel function, the enhancement work reduces the amount of deferred maintenance within the Los Angeles District's flood risk management program and improves the many projects in the area. The people that live in the round and work in that community proud to be there with all that graffiti and so forth, you know, urban blight basically. And what we're trying to do is clean up our assets and make them look representable. The initial cleanup of all areas is expected to be completed by December. The contractor will continue to monitor and paint over problem areas for the remainder of the year long contract. J. Field, Los Angeles.