Photograph by George Sakkestad
Saratoga Public Works employees Jesus Villalobos (left) and Rick Amaro paint "no dumping" stencils at storm drains in the city.
Saratoga Creek gets attention with settlement
Cleanup, prevention efforts under way
By Steve Enders
Driving along Saratoga's streets took some careful negotiating May 7 through May 10, as orange cones began sprouting up around the city's storm drains.
The cones were there to protect the fresh white and green paint that had just been sprayed on the concrete, which warned "No Dumping--Hotline 867-3896--Flows to Saratoga Creek."
The stenciled signs around the storm drains are just one of the eight measures the city is taking to meet the demands of its settlement over the long-running Saratoga Creek lawsuit.
The phone number painted with the warning leads to the Saratoga Fire Department's tip line, to report those who may be depositing things they shouldn't into the storm drains.
The case was settled after four years late last month, with the city paying out $84,000 in legal fees and other expenses attributed to the case against the city. It was filed by two environmental groups, San Francisco BayKeeper and Friends of Santa Clara County Creeks, in 1995.
In just the first few weeks since the case was settled, City Manager Larry Perlin said, the city has made good headway in meeting the terms.
Besides the stenciling of the storm drains, Perlin said, the city is working on a number of other projects around town to protect residents and try to solve whatever is causing high levels of bacteria to appear in the creek.
The steps, according to Perlin, include:
* Posting warning signs so people avoid contact with Saratoga Creek water where pollution levels are dangerous. Perlin said about 10 signs, being designed by a graphic artist, will be posted in various locations. The signs will cost the city about $3,000.
* Water-quality testing will be performed every two months, most likely starting at the end of May in three locations along the creek: at Springer Avenue, SaratogaSunnyvale Road and Crestbrook Drive. The testing, Perlin said, will be done in conjunction with the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and results of the testing will be published in advertisements in the Saratoga News.
* Updating maps of the storm-drain system was already being done, Perlin said, by the West Valley Sanitation District as part of its new computerized mapping system. Since it does all of the city's maintenance, the mapping is being done at no additional cost to the city.
* Improvements to the city's discharge response plan have been made as well. The city and the Saratoga Fire District will cooperate in the plan, with the city stepping up code enforcement of violators and the fire department holding drills for responding to calls of illegal dumping or spills. Spills will be contained and assessed by the fire department first, and the city will then handle cleanup efforts.
* Repairing sags at two sites in the city's storm drain system will be done at later dates, Perlin said. One, near the fire station, will be fixed if and when a new fire house is built. The other, near Fourth Street, will be repaired when the bridge there is replaced as part of the city's bridge replacement program, which is just getting started with bridges on Quito Road.
* One of the largest tasks under the settlement, Perlin said, will be to curb pollution coming from non-stormwater discharge at SaratogaSunnyvale Road. If testing determines fecal coliform bacteria still coming down the creek during the dry season, the city may have to hire a consultant to do further testing and determine exactly where the pollution is coming from. This, Perlin said, could be the costliest of the measures.
* Finally, phasing out the city's septic systems is already being addressed under a new city ordinance that requires septic users to connect to the sewer system if they're within 200 feet of an available line. For more information about the ordinance, contact City Hall at 868-1200.
Saratoga, California Since 1975
