By Marcia Fariss
When Councilmember Don Wolfe was reportedly told by the Santa Clara County Environmental Health Department that Saratoga Creek was "a typical urban creek," he became upset, but for the wrong reasons.
It should be pointed out to Mr. Wolfe that Saratoga is not a typical urban area. Saratoga has no manufacturing plants, no slums, no oil refineries and no sewage treatment plants, all of which are typical of most urban areas. In other words, Saratoga has none of the conditions that would classify it as an urban area; therefore, one wonders how Saratoga Creek could be classified a "typical urban creek."
Could it be that the designation applies because it has the pollution level of a true urban area?
The fact is, Saratoga Creek is polluted and dangerous; the fact that it has been designated as polluted is more important than the actual level of pollution. Since Saratoga is not a typical urban area but that one of its creeks has been designated as "a typical urban creek" should raise the question, where is the pollution coming from? The answer, to paraphrase Pogo, is that we have met the polluters and they are us.
Anything put in our soil, poured down our storm sewers, sprayed on our plants or placed on our pets finds its way into our creeks, our bay and our ocean. Whether the source of the pollution is Saratoga's commercial areas or its residential areas, it is in our best interests to control the amount of toxic materials in our environment. Determining the primary sources of pollution and then requiring that those polluters cease those activities is wise, not, to quote Mr. Wolfe, "politically motivated trickery."
Addressing Mr. Wolfe's personal attacks against the "Schwartz-Caldwell-Monia-Whetstone cabal of municipal incivility," I would like to note that this "cabal" appears to be interested in preserving as much of the once pristine character of Saratoga as possible, for the present as well as for the future. It takes considerable courage to speak up against those groups and individuals who seem determined not only to run our city but to ruin our city, in the name of self interest and greed.
Marcia Fariss is a member of the Saratoga Woods Homeowners Board.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 14, 1996.
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