Until now, gauging the health of the San Diego River might have required some legwork and research. But last weekend, March 15-16, the inaugural River Blitz in San Diego shone a spotlight on the oft-overlooked river.
The weekend river-monitoring project focused on the Mission Valley area and west to the Ocean Beach estuary. An estimated 35 volunteers split up into 13 teams to assess the current health conditions of the river based on the number of invasive plant species, homeless encampments, trash and general water quality.
“For the first time, we’re doing this assessment to guide our volunteer efforts into the future and gauge our success,” said Rob Hutsel, executive director of the San Diego River Park Foundation (SDRPF).
Volunteers were led by trained naturalists and team leaders outfitted with a global positioning system (GPS) unit, digital camera and clipboards with survey sheets to record observations.
Although the data have yet to be analyzed by the SDRPF, River Blitz coordinator Elizabeth Whitman has found patterns based on land ownership of the different segments along the river.
“Areas such as the estuary would be considered healthy since they are well cared for,” said Whitman. “But segments around Qualcomm [Stadium] will need a bit more work to clean up.”
The homeless remain a primary concern in the restoration of river habitat. Many homeless camps and trash are strewn throughout Mission Valley’s vegetation under freeway overpasses and along train tracks.
“When you push them out of one spot, they just relocate,” said Mark Carpenter, a volunteer River Blitz team leader.
For this reason, SDRPF works in collaboration with homeless coalitions, including the Alpha Project shelter, which sets aside beds for some of the homeless found along the river. The foundation also collaborates with city police to monitor the area.
During the weekend River Blitz, homeless people were found sleeping in burn-ash dumpsites that are posted as hazardous.
“This should not be happening,” said Hutsel.
All the data will be compiled by GPS points on a map, accessible on the SDRPF website. The segments of the river that were assessed can be viewed via Google maps at http://www.sandiegoriver-.org/RiverBlitz_000.html.
The visual assessment water monitoring survey used for the event was adapted from a survey method from the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual,” according to Whitman.
Randy Stevens, a UCSD intern, assembled the assessment standards.
Volunteers recorded the locations of targeted nonnative invasive plants, including palms, Brazilian pepper tree and castor beans, with a GPS point and visual description for each. A Conservation Resources Network grant paid for the digital cameras, GPS units and other recording equipment used during the River Blitz.
“Thanks to our amazing volunteers and great leaders, our first-ever River Blitz weekend was a success,” said Whitman, who is also a volunteer. “We should see the health of the river improve because of data collected, leading to enhanced cleanup efforts.”
The information will be compiled for a State of the River report that will rate the segments of the river on a grading scale of A through F, similar to a school report card.
“Some areas are in really good shape and some are in really bad shape,” said Hutsel.
Although this was the first planned River Blitz, monitoring of the river has occurred in other forms for years.
The RiverWatch team, an ongoing volunteer project of the SDRPF, has been monitoring the river on a monthly basis for several years. Founded by Marty Offenhauer in 2004 with the help of a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation grant, the RiverWatch team measures water quality, including phosphates and nitrates.
Volunteers use an electronic handheld device to collect data on the temperature, dissolved oxygen content, acidity or alkalinity, conductivity and nutrient content of the water at 15 locations along the San Diego River.
Information from RiverWatch volunteers will also aid in the River Blitz project, which the SDRPF plans to conduct twice a year ” in the spring and fall. Both are citizen-science monitoring groups that bring observation and documentation of local communities to a citizen level.