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<\/a>\u201cThe part that\u2019s even sadder to me is that amount is 91.9 percent of all the trash that was surveyed along the 20 miles,\u201d Hutsel said.<\/p>\n
The report also found that there are 56 active homeless encampments in Mission Valley, as well as a concentration of abandoned encampments located near the MTS ponds in western Mission Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is probably the worst area along the entire river,\u201d Hutsel said, adding that SDRPF is starting to work with MTS to get permission to go on the property to help clean out the trash in that area.<\/p>\n
Once that happens, the area should see improvements like neighboring areas along the river have seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is, if you go immediately downstream to where the Little League field is, all the way down toward I-5\/Pacific Highway\/Morena Boulevard, as of last [month] the entire site is clean,\u201d Hutsel said. \u201cWhen I started picking up trash 16, 17, 18 years ago in this area, I couldn\u2019t even imagine the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hutsel said that in that area of the Mission Valley preserve, they only found evidence of two homeless people living there, down from over 120.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe notion is that people working together can make a difference \u2014 the city of San Diego, park rangers in particular, are doing an awesome job,\u201d he said. \u201cOur volunteers are out there and other groups are out there. A lot of energy goes into keeping your public park, which is what this is, a dedicated park for Mission Valley, clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next \u201cemerging threat\u201d to keeping the river clean is the area around Qualcomm Stadium, Hutsel said. The city of San Diego is currently removing non-native plants from the land it owns around the stadium \u2014 which is also where the largest number of active encampments are.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re starting to see is those folks who are living there starting to move downstream, if you will, toward the 805 bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the area the homeless are moving into is private property owned by the Fenton family, some owned by Caltrans and most still owned by city\u2019s public utility department, Hutsel said and added that multiple agencies, including the Fire Department, are working against the clock to solve the homeless issue along the river.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot too long from now, Mission Valley will begin to see rain. We\u2019ll begin to see the flood waters rise on a more consistent basis. Those people are in harm\u2019s way,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just tragic. Every year multiple people die in the river because of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, SDRPF will participate in another survey called We All Count to document the number of homeless along the river. Addressing the homeless issue is now the most effective way to address cleaning the river, Hutsel said, because nearly all the trash along it is caused by homeless camps.<\/p>\n When surveys began, the percentage of trash attributed to homelessness was around 30 percent. Now that number is 95 percent. All of the trash caused by dumping sites, litter and stormwater trash has \u201cpretty much been resolved,\u201d Hutsel said.<\/p>\n Since January 2016, volunteers have removed over 200,000 pounds of trash from the river \u2014 most from Mission Valley. Right now, there is again about 200,000 pounds.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a revolving door,\u201d Hutsel said, adding that the challenges to addressing the homeless and trash problems are that it takes multiple agency efforts with lots of different land owners to come together to get it done.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that is more than a private property owner\u2019s responsibility,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a community\u2019s responsibility to try to figure out how we can address the more than 80 tons of trash \u2014 that once we pick it up, it will all come back. So, we got to address homelessness and help those people get out of there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>