Creating and Preserving Habitats Across the County

The San Diego County Water Authority is committed to minimizing the effects of its construction activities on surrounding environments. The Water Authority conducts detailed studies to identify sensitive plants, wildlife, and habitat that could be affected by construction projects.

To minimize impacts at construction sites, environmentally sensitive areas are marked with fencing and flagging to preserve identified resources. Additionally, construction is scheduled to avoid breeding seasons of sensitive bird species and a biological monitor visits construction sites at least weekly to ensure sensitive natural resources are protected.

Unfortunately, some environmental impacts cannot be avoided. Federal and state laws often require environmental analysis in the form of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Depending on the results of the EIR, agencies may have to offset these impacts through additional projects. To compensate for the impacts from the Emergency Storage Project, the Water Authority has funded the acquisition of nearly 600 acres of upland habitat areas and is creating or enhancing nearly 40 acres of wetland habitat, all located within San Diego County.

Wetland Habitat
Wetland habitats are typically found along streams and creeks. To recreate these habitats, the Water Authority changes dry areas into areas that can support plants that thrive in wet soil. Generally, the sites are graded to allow streams to flow onto the land, then planted and seeded with native wetland plants. Once the plants take root, the Water Authority monitors and maintains the sites until they can survive on their own. The following three projects will compensate for the effects of the Emergency Storage Project on wetland habitats:

Manchester Wetlands Creation Site
This was the first wetland mitigation project the Water Authority completed. Started in October 2004 and completed in March 2005, the Water Authority added nearly eight acres of wetlands to the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve on lands damaged from many years of farming and grazing. The Water Authority will continue to monitor the site through spring 2010 to ensure the plants will thrive.

The picture on the left was taken in 2005, when native plants were recently planted and seeded at the Manchester Wetlands Creation Site. The picture on the right is from 2006 and shows the significant growth of the plants in just one year.

Escondido Creek Enhancement Project
In fall 2004, the Water Authority began enhancement work of approximately 21 acres of sensitive habitat along Escondido Creek near Olivenhain Dam and the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, west of the city of Escondido. Some of the work included removing nonnative plants and planting native plant species. This work was completed in 2007. The Water Authority will monitor and maintain the revegetated areas until 2012.

Habitat restoration crews work on the Escondido Creek Wetlands Enhancement.

Tijuana River Valley Wetlands Mitigation Project
Once complete, this mitigation project will create nearly 40 acres of native wetlands in the Tijuana River Valley. Planned improvements include reclaiming an agricultural field, removing abandoned and dilapidated farm structures, establishing a permanent surface connection to the Tijuana River, and ensuring that the Tijuana River flows across the site during two-year flood events or greater. This project will also provide a system of recreational trails connected to existing trail segments. A portion of this project is being completed for other Water Authority construction projects, besides the Emergency Storage Project. Construction is expected to begin in late 2010.

Abandoned and dilapidated farm structures, such as the one above, will be removed as part of the Tijuana River Valley Wetlands Mitigation Project.

Upland Habitat
Since 2001, the Water Authority has provided funding to set aside four parcels of land for upland habitats. Upland habitat areas are dry for most of the year and support plants not requiring much water to survive. Local jurisdictions own and manage these upland sites to conserve threatened and endangered plants and wildlife. These projects are now complete. Water Authority funding purchased the following upland habitats:

1. Escondido Creek Uplands: 37 acres near Escondido Creek in northern San Diego County.
   
   
2. Montaña Mirador Mitigation Area: 325 acres within the Black Mountain Open Space Park in the community of Rancho Peñasquitos.
   
   
3. Myers Property Management Mitigation Area: 35 acres within the city of Oceanside.
   
   
4. San Miguel Habitat Management Area: 200 acres that are part of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, located north of Chula Vista.