Pinole Creek Watershed Vision Plan
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PINOLE CREEK WATERSHED VISION PLAN A LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED EFFORT Urban Creeks Council Restoration Design Group, LLC PINOLE CREEK WATERSHED VISION PLAN A LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED EFFORT Prepared by: Urban Creeks Council of California Restoration Design Group, LLC In Partnership with: City of Pinole Redevelopment Agency Contra Costa County Flood Control & Water Conservation District Grant funding provided by: California Coastal Conservancy June 2004 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements We wish to give special thanks to all who provided their time and energy to this effort. In particular we want to thank Frank Nunes, Roger Leventhal, Carole Dwinell, Ann Riley, Roger Hartwell, Kevin Emigh, and Bob Power. We are also indebted to the Pinole Valley High School and the Pinole Public Library for the use of their meeting facilities. Vision Planning Group Signatures Joseph R. Mariotti Nancy E. Stein Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Contra Costa County Watershed Program Local Historian Watershed Management Planning Specialist William G. Voigt Roger D. Hartwell Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed EBMUD Fisheries Biologist GIS Analyst and Biologist Frank E. Nunes Carol Thompson Briones Valley Rancher Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Pre-school teacher Carole Dwinell Geoff Chandler Briones Valley landowner Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed, Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Pinole Valley High School, Env. Studies Academy Administrator Jeffra Cook Tim McDonough Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed Hercules homeowner Carol Arnold Nancy Voisey Watershed Coordinator, Pinole Creek City of Pinole Clean Water Program Watershed Vision Plan Pinole Creek Watershed Vision Plan i Contents Contents Acknowledgements.................................................................................................i Vision Planning Group Signatures..................................................................i Preface.............................................................................................................................1 Introduction.................................................................................................................1 Executive Summary.............................................................................................1 Vision Statement...................................................................................................2 Watershed Components.......................................................................................3 Physical..................................................................................................................3 Biological...............................................................................................................4 Historical...............................................................................................................6 Political................................................................................................................9 Social....................................................................................................................10 Planning Process.....................................................................................................12 Community Meetings........................................................................................13 Field Trips............................................................................................................13 Guest Speakers...................................................................................................13 Results...........................................................................................................................14 Water Quality......................................................................................................15 Habitat.................................................................................................................17 Education............................................................................................................18 Private Property .................................................................................................18 Development & Design.....................................................................................18 Flood Management............................................................................................19 Goals & Actions.......................................................................................................20 Pinole Creek Vision Watershed Plan ii Contents Opportunities &Constraints...........................................................................24 Lower Pinole Creek Restoration Project..........................................................24 Pavon Creeks......................................................................................................29 Trailer Storage Site.............................................................................................30 Development & Design.....................................................................................30 Contra Costa Resource Conservation District................................................32 Stream Management Program for Private Landowners...............................32 Watershed Council.............................................................................................32 Conclusions................................................................................................................34 Appendices Appendix A: Funding Options - Lower Pinole Creek Maintenance........................36 List of Figures Pinole Location Map........................................................................................................iv Historical Alignment of Pinole Creek.............................................................................7 Pinole Creek Watershed Profile.....................................................................................11 Lower Pinole Creek Restoration Concept - Cross Sections........................................25 Pinole Creek Restoration Design Concept (Lower Channel)....................................26 Reach 1 Opportunities & Constraints..........................................................................27 Reach 2 Opportunities & Constraints..........................................................................28 Pinole Creek Watershed Projects...................................................................................31 Pinole Creek Watershed Goals Relationship Model..................................................35 Pinole Creek Watershed Vision Plan iii Pinole Location Map Pinole Location Map 5 80 YOLO 101 50 505 Davis NAPA SACRAMENTO SONOMA Santa Rosa Vacaville Napa SOLANO Petaluma Fairfield 80 Lodi Rio Vista 5 MARIN Pinole 680 Antioch Stockton Richmond Concord Berkeley SAN Walnut Creek JOAQUIN CONTRA COSTA Oakland 99 Alameda SAN FRANCISCO San Leandro 580 Livermore Pleasanton ALAMEDA Fremont 5 Half Moon Bay 280 San Jose SAN MATEO SANTA CLARA SANTA CRUZ 17 101 Pinole Creek Vision Watershed Plan iv Preface Preface The Pinole Creek Watershed Vision Plan initially provided a broad community perspec- tive to the Pinole Creek flood control channel redesign project. This California Coastal Conservancy funded plan is a result of a collaborative process between the Urban Creeks Council of California (UCC), Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed, the City of Pinole Redevelopment Agency, and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. A related project is the redesign of the existing flood control channel on lower Pinole Creek. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the lead agency for that project, local partners felt it was important to provide the USACE with a locally based design alternative that exemplifies a larger community-based watershed vision. A separate report, also funded by the Coastal Conservancy, presents the community-supported lower channel restoration concept. This concept is summa- rized briefly in this Vision Plan and is supported by participants in the Vision Plan process. Introduction After more than two years of effort, the UCC is pleased to present the Pinole Creek Watershed Vision Plan. While the UCC and the Restoration Design Group made significant contributions to the planning process from 2001 to present, the report represent decades of work by many individuals, agencies and elected Cattle and the golden hills of the upper watershed officials. The vision plan has been devel- oped through an open democratic process and reflects a wide range of communal inter- ests that may guide public policy. Executive Summary The consensus building approach used in the vision planning process established multi- ple priorities aimed to achieve and maintain a healthy Pinole Creek watershed. The realization of each priority is interrelated to the other priorities and reflects the connec- tivity between the community and the watershed. The consensus building approach emphasized by Drew Goetting and the Restoration Design Group integrated many different perspectives into the decision making process. This plan is the product of a constructive and exploratory dialogue. It is this democratic communicative process that has become one of the underlying principles of the vision. A watershed council that provides a public forum for community members to continue their involvement in