PROJECTS: Urban Runoff Reduction

Demonstration projects
The Watershed Council has undertaken a new project to help watershed residents keep pollutants out of San Francisquito Creek.

Two properties within the creek's watershed will be turned into demonstration sites to showcase ways to reduce the amount of water that sheets off of driveways, rooftops, parking lots, and other hard surfaces when it rains. This "urban runoff" picks up pollutants like oil and grease, tire dust, and pesticides as it flows across lawns and streets. Storm drains carry the toxic mixture into San Francisquito Creek, and from there it flows into the Bay. Although it may not be intuitive, it turns out that reducing the amount of runoff generated proportionally reduces the amount of pollution that ends up in the creek!

At each site, innovative but simple changes will be made to existing landscaping and parking areas to capture rainwater within the property and store it or direct it to areas where it can percolate into the ground. Examples of techniques that slow, clean, and reduce runoff include replacing concrete with more permeable surfaces, landscape features such as rain gardens and swales, and installation of rain barrels.

While the runoff reduction from these two properties will be just a drop in the bucket for the whole creek, the goal of the project is to share the demonstration ideas with the local and broader Bay Area community. If every residential, commercial, and public property in the watershed were modified to be more "absorbent," the reduction in pollutants reaching the creek would be signficant.

The demonstration techniques will be constructed this fall and winter (2005). Stay tuned for information on guided tours of the completed projects! Contact katie@sanfrancisquito.org for more information.

Funding for this project has been provided in full or in part through an Agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) pursuant to the Costa-Machado Water Act of 2000 (Proposition 13) and any amendments thereto for the implementation of California's Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the SWRCB, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.