Residents throughout California are rightfully worried as they hear news of a coming “Super El Niño” this winter. Scientists say there is a 69% chance of this being stronger than any El Niño since 1950, when records began. El Niño is the warm stage of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a weather phenomenon that involves cycles of warming and cooling in the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean, with profound effects on global weather patterns. Once every two to seven years, the warmer waters that arrive with El Niño generally bring much wetter weather and more severe storms to California. These effects are now amplified by human-caused climate change, making El Niño more extreme. This is of particular concern in flood-prone areas of our county such as Martinez, where flooding has been a regular occurrence throughout much of the City’s history.
If your property includes one of Contra Costa County’s many beautiful creeks, you may be especially concerned about how to avoid damage in the face of more severe storms. Luckily, help is available! The Streamside Management Program for Landowners (SMPL), funded by the Contra Costa Flood Control and Water Conservation District, provides free consultations for streamside residents. Experts from the California Urban Streams Partnership (CUSP) will come to your property and survey your creek issues, providing a report with management recommendations.
CUSP generally promotes soil bioengineering, a fancy term for techniques that use organic materials, including the installation of live willow cuttings that will root out and stabilize creek banks. Willow roots have extremely high tensile strength, so these installations generally last longer and perform better than “gray” infrastructure such as concrete or gabions. Not only that, but willow trees provide excellent wildlife habitat and cooling shade to improve conditions for fish.
The CCRCD partners with CUSP to hold workshops that educate residents about soil bioengineering techniques, as well as hands-on workdays to install soil bioengineering treatments for landowners. These workshops are a fantastic opportunity to get acquainted with ecologically sound methods of creek management, and also to learn-by-doing, getting your hands dirty helping a local resident to address their creek problems. Look out for upcoming soil bioengineering workshop opportunities in your community!
If you have concerns regarding the creek on your property, please contact the SMPL program here.
If you are interested in workshop opportunities related to soil bioengineering, please contact Evan Green at egreen@ccrcd.org.
