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Clean and Healthy Land and Water

 Without clean and free flowing water in the creek and its tributaries, the Escondido Creek watershed will never fulfill its potential to support the natural diversity of species that make our region unique.

WATER QUALITY MONITERING

Beginning in September, 2011, the Conservancy began conducting routine water quality monitoring at four sites along the Escondido Creek. The purpose of the Water Quality Monitoring Program is to establish a baseline that will be used to evaluate the condition and overall health of Escondido Creek on an ongoing basis, as well as to identify short- and long-term trends.

Many of these water quality parameters have improved since monitoring began, but there is still much more work to be done. The natural creek (as opposed to the concrete flood control channel in downtown Escondido) acts as a biofilter, removing pollutants from the creek as it progresses toward the ocean. One of the Conservancy’s long-term goals is to re-naturalize this concrete channel in order to provide greater benefits to both people and wildlife.

The Escondido Creek Conservancy
Watch Now

HOW CLEAN IS
ESCONDIDO CREEK?

Retired Civil Engineer and former Conservancy Board Member Greg McBain on the Values of Escondido Creek

A species on my list to photograph during my time spent in Florida was the Blue-winged Tea

REWILDING ESCONDIDO & REIDY CREEKS

While we are best known for our education programs and our work protecting land for wildlife, we believe improving the health of the water that flows through Escondido and Reidy Creeks in the City of Escondido - and eventually to the San Elijo Lagoon and into the ocean - is also paramount.

Escondido Creek Conservancy volunteers have been monitoring the quality of the water in Escondido Creek for many years, using this information to advocate for policy changes that would help improve water quality.

Controlling water pollution is everyone's responsibility, but a variety of government agencies, in the case of the Escondido Creek watershed, the cities of Escondido, Encinitas and Solana Beach, and the County of San Diego, as well as the Regional Water Quality Control Board, are responsible to make sure water pollutant standards are met by industry and governments and the water is clean for humans and wildlife. 

The Conservancy has advocated for improved water quality in the watershed and partnered with other nonprofit organizations, such as San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love a Clean San Diego, on projects to reduce trash and other pollutants in our creeks.​

Improving water quality in Escondido Creek is especially challenging because of the 6-mile long concrete flood control channel in the City of Escondido. In the 1950s and later, government agencies took a myopic view on handling flooding challenges and many communities constructed concrete channels to move  flood waters through their communities as quickly as possible. Flood waters were tamed, but what the engineers of the day didn't realize is the immediate and long-term negative impacts of those channels on the health of the watersheds, both for humans and wildlife. 

​While concrete channels move flood water quickly, they also split neighborhoods with impassable concrete ditches, isolating residents and creating heat islands where trees were removed. ​Flood control channels become conduits for pollutants, as everything that runs off the streets ends up in the channel and makes its way to the ocean. Flood control channels also heat the water, limiting the species that can live in and near it.

We have encouraged the City of Escondido to rewild Escondido and Reidy Creeks such that they not only maintain their flood carrying capacity, but also provide ecological functions and can serve as park space for nearby residents. 

In contrast to a concrete flood control channel, in a healthy creek in southern California, the creek bottom would be a mix of rocks, pebbles and sand of varying sizes. the sides of the creek would be shaded by overhanging trees including the California Sycamore, Coast Live Oaks and the Arroyo Willow. This natural bottom would have places for fish and insects to hide and lay eggs while the trees would cool the water, allowing them to reproduce as nature intended.

The Conservancy is focused on the health and vitality of the Escondido Creek watershed, which includes Reidy and Escondido creeks.

The 6-mile concrete flood control channel in the City of Escondido has flood control benefits but, sadly, it has significantly harmed the Escondido Creek watershed by serving as a conduit for trash and pollution, splitting neighborhoods, removing the natural flow of sand to the ocean and  heating the water such that many species are struggling to survive. Perhaps the saddest outcome is that many Escondido residents near the channel lost access to nature, their once coherent neighborhoods are now bisected, and trees and gentle breezes have been replaced with concrete and heat.

 

The good news is that cities all over the world have begun to rewild their concrete flood control channels, turning them into amenities for people and wildlife. The most well-known project might be the Los Angeles River, which is similar to the Escondido Creek flood control channel but on a much greater scale. Leaders in Los Angeles are to be commended for having a vision to rewild the LA River and working together to bring it to fruition.

GRAPE DAY PROJECT

This work has been completed and the report can be found here. The Conservancy also had a companion report created that discusses the economic benefits of parks here. Additionally, the Conservancy sent a comment letter to the City of Escondido to urge the city to consider the reports as it updates the Grape Day Park Master Plan. 

Not all of our work is in the wild lands! 

 

Bringing natural beauty and economic opportunity to urban areas along Escondido Creek in the city of Escondido is also important. In fact, greening the creeks and even the storm drainages in the City of Escondido improves the chances that the natural areas we protect elsewhere will successfully support wildlife for decades to come. With that in mind, the Conservancy sought and won a grant of $355,000 from the State of California Integrated Regional Water Management Program to develop preliminary design (30% design level) to restore Escondido Creek through Grape Day Park. Grape Day Park was chosen as the site for a demonstration of the transformation–a re-wilding–the Conservancy hopes will eventually occur along the entirety of the 6-mile flood control channel.

The goal:

Create an engineered design to show how storm water from Escondido Creek could be cleaned by first running it through a new “Park within the Park.” The new park would provide new recreational amenities for Escondido residents, it would cool the area through the planting of trees and the creation of new water features.   The 30% design level is considered a significant engineering milestone, as it enables the larger project costs to be estimated once a design is rendered to 30%.

The project was conducted in partnership with Escondido Education COMPACT and the City of Escondido.

 

Project outcomes include:

Increased parkland, recreational opportunities, and economic opportunities. Similar projects elsewhere have improved the quality of life and provided economic opportunities for residents. One key component of this project is an analysis to evaluate the economic benefit of a restored Escondido Creek in a more natural state. Much of the work is technical in nature, as we must first fully understand how a restored channel will function (convey flow, water quality, ecological processes, etc.) within a watershed context.

Consultants reviewed currently available studies and data, filling data gaps as needed with additional research, mapping, and data collection. Engineers and hydrologists then developed hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment transport, and geomorphic models or analytic tools, which were used to assess different design scenarios. Alternate scenarios were refined through a stakeholder process.

Unique to this project, the Conservancy partnered with COMPACT to implement a program of Conservation Fellowships where young people from central Escondido shadowed the project to learn STEM education methodologies from professionals working in the real world. Fellows attended technical meetings, accompanied professionals in fieldwork, and participated in project activities.

It may seem odd for a conservation group to be promoting economic development, but the Conservancy proposed just that in its design. The proposed project would spark economic development while creating new green space for the enjoyment of Escondido residents and visitors. Enhancing economic development is key to kick-starting restoration of the creek in Escondido, and new development along a restored creek will provide new opportunities for people to live in a safe, vibrant, healthy, and walkable Escondido.

 

The design was created after review of previous plans proposed for Grape Day Park including the draft Grape Day Park Master Plan and the People to the Park Plan. It includes many people-friendly elements such as an amphitheater that could also serve as a wedding/special event venue and a boardwalk that will allow the public to meander over the water, which will be slowly moving through a newly created wetland. As the water flows through the new park, it will be cleansed of contaminants that would otherwise pollute the creek and ocean.​

 

The Conservancy contracted with the economic firm London Moeder to analyze the economic benefits that would occur with the proposed enhancement project. London Moeder’s analysis found that similar waterway restoration projects have had positive effects on communities throughout the nation.  These projects spark economic development as the restored waterways attract residential and associated commercial development. Data show that land near dynamic parks has a greater value than land further away, as people like to live and work near parkland. London Moeder found that the Conservancy’s proposed ‘Park in the Park’ could generate annual revenues from $1.9 million to $7 million, depending on which of two zoning scenarios the City of Escondido pursued. The scenario recommended by London Moeder would involve the city building more housing around Grape Day Park than current zoning laws allow.​

 

The Park within the park would bring more people into central Escondido, providing more customers for downtown businesses, and help address San Diego County’s housing crisis. The site of the proposed Park in the Park is currently functioning as a parking lot, and the Conservancy is committed to working with the city and community to find alternative parking areas. The Conservancy has suggested parking alternatives.

While the City of Escondido has not adopted the Park Within the Park concept, the Conservancy hopes that it will be considered in the future.

Grape Day Project Overview

Grape Day Technical Specs

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REIDY CREEK
PROJECT

While the project is completed, the City must continue to maintain Reidy Creek so invasive weeds and trash and pollution do not return. The Conservancy hopes to find future funding to work with the City of Escondido to extend a trail along Reidy Creek so that local residents can safely enjoy its many wonders.

There is another important creek in the Escondido Creek watershed: a major drainage to Escondido Creek called Reidy Creek. It originates in the northern park of the city near Daley Ranch and flows down Reidy Canyon (where Broadway terminates), then parallels Centre City Pkwy before joining Escondido Creek near the Escondido Transit Center. Unlike Escondido Creek, which mostly flows through the city in a concrete channel, parts of Reidy Creek are natural which provides an opportunity to more immediately rewild it.

Enhancing and improving Reidy Creek provides an opportunity to showcase what other creeks in the watershed could become: ribbon parks bisecting the city with beautiful native trees and plants, clean water, and walking and biking trails for local residents.

Reidy Creek had been the topic of conversation within the last few years as private property owners along the creek had expressed concerns over homeless encampments, and the resultant trash and pollution. ​​To help combat these concerns, in September of 2018, the Conservancy was awarded $380,873 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to implement the Reidy Creek Restoration and Beautification Project.​ In partnership with the City of Escondido and private property owners along Reidy Creek, the grant provided funding to remove invasive exotic trees and plants from the creek, as well as clean up and prevent trash and pollution on a large scale.

“The City is happy to be a part of this important creek project,” said then-Escondido City Manager Jeffrey Epp. “It should improve public safety by removing non-native trees and plants, making it easier for Police officers and Public Works staff to patrol the area for unauthorized encampments and litter.”

This project resulted in restored riparian and floodplain habitat for threatened and endangered species, restored ecological condition and function, improved fish and wildlife habitat, enhanced flood protection, and community outreach.

Reidy Creek is an important natural waterway in the Escondido Creek watershed,” said Richard Murphy, the then President of the Conservancy, “but it has suffered from infestations of non-native plants that have diminished the ecological values of the creek.”

 

Reidy Creek, a primary tributary of Escondido Creek, is an important riparian and floodplain habitat within the Escondido Creek watershed. The watershed supports conservation of special status species including the least Bell’s vireo, which is known to recolonize river banks after restoration. The project treatment area stretches 21.15 acres from where the creek intersects El Norte Parkway to Lincoln. Large-scale invasive species removal occurred along .81 miles of the creek by the Urban Corps, which provides work experience to underserved youth.  

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THE CITY OF ESCONDIDO

For decades, Escondido's residents have called on the city to restore the storm drain channel along Escondido Creek such that the creek becomes more natural and is an amenity, a linear park, for city residents, and the water flowing through the creek is clean, all the way to the San Elijo lagoon where the creek meets the Pacific ocean. 

Some progress has occurred:

Revealing Escondido Creek

 

Residents began to be heard when landscape architectural students at Cal Poly Pomona helped advance the dream with a community-based project that resulted in a report called "Revealing Escondido Creek." It outlines a future in which the Escondido Creek Trail along the storm drain channel revitalizes Escondido and becomes a linear creek-walk park providing residents and visitors with an opportunity to engage the creek in both its wild and urban typologies.

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2012 - Escondido Creek Trail Master Plan

There is the Escondido Creek flood channel, which confines the waters of Escondido Creek as it moves through the City of Escondido, and alongside the flood control channel is a maintenance road the City calls the Escondido Creek Trail.  To help advance improvements to the Escondido Creek Trail, the city commissioned Schmidt Design group to develop a plan that would guide development along the trail. The resultant plan helps set standards as people develop projects along the trail, for things such as fencing and lighting. 

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2020 Escondido Creek Trail Improvement Grant

The Conservancy was pleased to support the City of Escondido’s successful $8.5 million grant to make improvements to the Escondido Creek Trail. In 2020, the city was awarded $8.5 million from the CA Department of Parks and Recreation through the Prop 68 Parks and Water Bond Act of 2018, which aims to create new parks and recreation opportunities in underserved communities across California. The current Escondido Creek Trail Expansion and Renovation project would improve approximately 4.5 miles of the existing Escondido Creek Trail and add approximately 0.4 miles of new bicycle path. This project will create a double-sided trail on approximately 1.7 miles; on one side will be the existing Class I bicycle path, on the other will be a new DG trail. While the city’s approach wasn't as bold as the Conservancy would have hoped, once constructed, it will dramatically improve the visual feel of the Creek Trail. Work should start in 2025.

2010

2012

2020

FURTHER READING

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