Friends of Sausal Creek |
Memorial Day weekend has passed, and summer is around the corner. Images come to mind of barbecues at Dimond Park and children playing in Sausal Creek. But this also raises a question: How polluted is Sausal Creek? While the water quality in Dimond Park doesn't have the dangerously high E. coli bacteria levels seen farther downstream, that doesn't mean the water in Dimond Park is always clean, either. |
Friends of Sausal Creek, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, restoring, and promoting awareness about Sausal Creek and the area around it, monitors the water quality of Sausal Creek. On the first Saturday of every month, volunteers measure the temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and ammonia present in the water. The aquatic-insect-monitoring team gathers on the third Sunday morning of every month to count the aquatic insects living in the creek. The data these teams have gathered tells us that, in Dimond Park, water quality is good enough to support aquatic life. However, at times Sausal Creek is not as clean. The Friends also record pollution seen in the creek. In the last year we've received calls that the creek was red, green, and blue. And I've seen times when the water is foamy or has an oily sheen. Unfortunately, the people polluting the creek probably don't know they are doing anything wrong. They aren't dumping straight into the creek, they are just cleaning their paint cans in the street or hosing motor oil off the driveway. They don't know that drains in streets and parking lots do not connect to the sewer system. These "storm drains," found in or around any large area of concrete, are built to remove water from the area as quickly as possible and empty their contents, untreated, into the nearest creek. That means that any paint washed off a driveway and down the street ends up in the creek. Now that you know about storm drains, here are simple things you can do to keep them free from pollution: Dispose of hazardous waste properly. Call 1-800-606-6606, or visit household-hazwaste.org to find out how. Don't overwater yards. The water that runs off carries yard wastes, dirt, and pesticides into our creeks. Don't use pesticides or other toxic materials just before it rains. The rain washes these chemicals into the creek. Maintain your car, and fix leaks.Wash your car at a carwash that recycles its water. If you do it yourself, use biodegradable soap and drive the car onto grass or gravel so the soapy water does not run straight into a creek. If you see someone dumping into a creek, call 911. If there is a sewer backup or spill, call 615-55666. If you see that the creek has been polluted, call 238-6600. Contact us as well, so we can note the pollution in our file: e-mail coordinator\@sausalcreek.org, or call 501-FOSC. |
