|
Friends of Sausal Creek
Peralta Creek to Be Restored in César Chávez
Park
by Charlotte Bell
In a small city park known as César
Chávez Park, in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, runs a short open
section of Peralta Creek. Hidden towards the rear entrance to the park,
this creek has been subjected over the years to many alterations,
including the installation of a bypass culvert to carry high flows,
concrete retaining walls, and boulder rip-rap. Although the intent of
these additions was to prevent the creek from flooding its banks and
spilling into the neighboring houses, they have created an eyesore for the
park. The creek, instead of being seen as an amenity, has been seen as a
dumping ground.
To change the attitude towards the creek and
improve the local habitat, the Public Works Agency of the City of Oakland
is planning a restoration and rehabilitation project funded by the
California Department of Water Resources. Along with its project partners,
the Urban Creeks Council, the Unity Council, and the Alameda County Flood
Control and Water Conservation District, the city will implement a
regrading and native-plant revegetation project. The plan calls for
removing a section of the bypass culvert so that the banks can be regraded
to a more gentle slope, thereby improving the visibility of the creek.
This element of the restoration is an important one for the community
because the current lack of visibility has led to the creek attracting
undesirable activity. Changes to the creek will also improve the
native-plant habitat diversity, control erosion of the banks, and improve
access, making the creek a more enjoyable place to visit.
The success of the project will depend not only upon the success of the
revegetation but also on change in the community's attitude towards the
creek. To increase community involvement and understanding of the need for
the project, the city invited the community development organization, the
Unity Council, to participate. The Unity Council organized a series of
three community meetings where the restoration plan was explained and the
community given an opportunity to provide their input and state their
concerns. The city and the Unity Council have also started community-based
water-quality monitoring and plant-propagation groups. Each of those
groups meets on an every-other-month basis. The water-quality monitoring
group meets in the park, and the plant propagation group meets at Joaquin
Miller Park native-plant nursery that is run by the Friends of Sausal
Creek. The plant group is helping to raise native plants that will be
installed at the project site next December.
The project is
scheduled to go to construction in the summer of 2003. If you would like
more information about the project or would like to get involved with
water-monitoring or plant-propagation groups, contact Kristin Hathaway at
the City of Oakland, at 238-7571. |
|
How Can You Help
You can help protect Peralta Creek!
Prevent illegal dumping in
the creek. If you see dumping in progress of chemicals or garbage in the
creek or storm drains, this is a public emergency, and you are authorized
to CALL 911.
To report dumping that has already occurred, call
238-7074.
To dispose of hazardous waste from your household, like
paints, auto fluids, batteries, or chemicals, call 800-606-6606.
Wash your car at a commercial car wash. At home, the detergents
from your freshly rinsed car run down the street, into the storm drain,
and straight into the nearest creek. Commercial car washes are required to
trap their runoff so it doesn't reach the storm drains.
Join the
annual creek cleanup, usually on "Creek to Bay Day" in September. Click
here to see the neighborhood in action on a recent Canyon Cleanup Day.
Send us your ideas on how to protect the creek, and we'll publish
them here! Send us an email, and if you're under 18, be sure to include
your age.
|
