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My question is why the Santa Clara Valley Water District doesn’t
clean the trees out of the creek?
Creek cleanup
“My question is why the Santa Clara Valley Water District doesn’t clean the trees out of the creek? I’m concerned because I live in an area of Gilroy that was once flooded and then the corp of engineers cleaned out the creek and extended the levees, but now it’s full of trees and I heard it had something to do with some birds that now live in the trees and they can’t clear them out.
My concern with global warming and the way the weather’s changing we could have a really horrific weather season and my house could be flooded again.”
Red Phone:
Good caller, your attention to potential disaster is always appreciated, especially by those directly involved with this situation. Red Phone contacted spokesman for Santa Clara Valley Water District Mike Di Marco, who complimented you on your watchful eye.
Mike mentioned two creeks that could have such a problem, one is Uvas, and the other is Llagas Creek. He said Llagas between Gilroy Foods and the wastewater plant does have trees in the creek bed that are home to the Leaft Bell’s Bireo, an endangered bird.
“Some trees you leave in, for example, some are there to give the fish shade. When the fish eggs hatch, they will hang out there until they are large enough to swim out,” Di Marco said.
In the spot you mentioned caller, Di Marco said the flood protection plan is not permitted to clear however, Di Marco said that a crew is constantly monitoring all creek areas and if a situation arose where public safety was threatened then, the area could be cleared enough to reinstate water flow.
“It’s a balancing act,” said Di Marco in reference to what is cleared and what stays to maintain habitats among other things.
Di Marco said the best way to get help, if there was an emergency, is to call 911 and you will be directed to the water district for help.
Thank you astute caller for your attention, and for providing a reminder to the Santa Clara Valley Water District and to your neighbors to watch out for potential flood prone areas in the coming rainy season.
street sweeping for bike lanes?
“I wanna commend the city on completing the Santa Teresa widening and putting in those wonderful bike lanes. I’m an avid cyclist and being able to ride in those was great. Unfortunately, they are unusable now because they are filled with glass and rocks and you cannot ride in those lanes because the tires will pop easily.
Is there anyway the city might get those cleaned on a regular basis with a street sweeper? Avid cyclists would love it, thank you.”
Red Phone:
Avid cyclist, Red Phone contacted city operations and spoke with Leslie Wilcox, Environmental Programs Assistant, in turn she contacted South Valley Disposal who does the street sweeping. South Valley does sweep Santa Teresa from First Street to Sunrise Drive every other Wednesday, Wilcox said, the next sweep date is Oct. 25.
Whether or not the bike lanes are being swept remains in question. Wilcox spoke to the person in charge of street sweeping at South Valley and they were not specific as to whether or not the bike lanes also were being cleaned, but it is possible that the only area cleaned is from the street to the curb resulting in debris actually being swept into the bike lanes.
Wilcox said she will bring this to the attention of the environmental programs coordinator when they return next week. She added that it is possible that because the widening project is a recent change, adjustments may need to be made to include all areas that need to be swept.
Therefore good caller, attempts to remedy this situation are in the works, so keep on peddling, and hopefully clean bike lanes are on the horizon.
