San Pedro Creek Diversion Structure Relocation and Creek Restoration Project

​Background:

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San Pedro Creek is a perennial stream in the City of Pacifica, San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area whose tributaries originate on Sweeney Ridge in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Montara Mountain in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The creek main-steam flows 2.5 miles (4.0 km) through the San Pedro Valley to its mouth at the south end of the Pacifica State Beach (Linda Mar) into the Pacific Ocean. The south fork is a emergency water source for the City of Pacifica. San Pedro Creek is also notable as the only major steelhead trout habitat for 25 miles (40 km) between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.

 

The diversion structure is located on the south fork of San Pedro Creek (see map) , the existing diversion structure is dated (about 76 years old) and is located a significant from distance from the existing North Coast County Water District (NCCWD) filtration plant (see image to the left). The NCCWD is looking to remove the old structure and relocate a new structure closer to the existing filter plant. Removal of the old structure will allow for the upstream migration and access to historical spawning grounds for steelhead trout, hopefully increasing their population and improving the health of the San Pedro Creek watershed.

The Phase 1 planning and implementation is being led by Adrianne Carr, PhD., General Manager of the NCCWD. The plan includes:

• Topographic survey and inspection of existing infrastructure

• Biological resources assessment

• Development of an environmental compliance strategy

• Development of a conceptual project plan

 

For more information about:

North Coast County Water District

San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition

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Note: The diversion structure is on NCCWD property - No Trespassing.

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Status and Updates:

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June 20, 2024 Project Update:

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In response to the update from the North Coast County Water District (NCCWD) (see below), the June 20 NCCWD Board Meeting was attended by Bill Schwegler (President, Cultivar Foundation) and John Keener (President, San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition). Both spoke encouraging the NCCWD Board to continue efforts to survey the areas above the existing diversion structure and that a lot of changes have occurred in the last 20 years and that the studies referenced below were not comprehensive in scope. It was agreed that “there’s no way of knowing what we would be able to see until we are there.”

 

May 24, 2024 Project Update:
 
The North Coast County Water District (NCCWD) continues to make great progress on this project. As reported in an update given at the May 24 Board meeting: 

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“The elevation survey was completed in March and the habitat survey was also done in late March. In the field, the company doing the habitat survey, said that they could not survey the area above the existing diversion structure because of the dense vegetation and inaccessibility of the site.  The NCCWD has asked them to provide a quote for extending their services to include survey of the area above the diversion structure, including vegetation removal as needed to access the creek. We still have not received this from ESA (the company that is preforming the Surveys).
 
ESA had also reviewed several studies that we sent them that we had downloaded from the San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition website.  They had this to say after their initial survey:
 
The studies you provided indicate that the South Fork provides some habitat for steelhead, but other forks and the mainstream provide better quality habitat and restoration efforts should be focused there. For example, the 2002 Hagar paper states spawning areas upstream of the POD were observed as suitable for resident trout but too small for use by steelhead. It goes on to note that the stream in the area of the diversion is very steep with bedrock outcropping, and the bedrock underlying the POD is a bedrock outcrop/cascade that presents an obstacle to fish migration. That being said, a lot could have changed in the 20 years since those papers were published. We could try to access the portion of the creek upstream of the POD, but this would likely require vegetation clearing and access from Whiting Ridge. And there’s no way of knowing what we would be able to see until we are there.”
 
The NCCWD has requested a proposal from ESA to complete the surveys.
 

February 21, 2024:

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At the February 21, 2024 Board  meeting of the North Coast County Water District (NCCWD), Joshua Cosgrove, President announced unanimous approval by the Board of Directors to fund Phase 1 of the Project which will provide an important supplemental and emergency water supply for the District and restore the creek bed all as a part of NCCWD stewardship of the San Pedro Creek watershed.

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At the Board meeting support for this work was expressed by John Keener, President of the San Pedro Creek Watershed Coalition, followed by Bill Schwegler, President of Cultivar Foundation (see photo below).