In Sydney Australia we’ve had a similar experience with our ‘Tank Stream’. It was once a thriving little river that nourished the local Indigenous population for tens of thousands of years. Due to irresponsible and short sighted environmental management however within a couple of decades after European settlement it had became an open sewer. After a few decades it was covered over with stone slabs and more or less forgotten about. More: http://tankstream.org.au/history

I think there is a growing appreciation among policy makers and the broader community about the importance of river habitat conservation in our urban centres though. The experience of South Korean in restoring the Cheonggyecheon River show whats possible once the public mind has been mobilised.

Enjoy your blog, thank you ~ Claude