CONSERVATION This Chapter Provides Policy Guidance to Conserve Pacifica’S Natural and Cultural Resources
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7 CONSERVATION This chapter provides policy guidance to conserve Pacifica’s natural and cultural resources. Topics covered in this element include water resources; biological resources; forest, agricultural, and soil resources; air quality; energy and greenhouse gases; and cultural and historic resources. 7.1 WATER RESOURCES Pacifica’s water resources are unique and numer- residential and commercial development along High- ous, and they provide important benefits to the city, way 1. The lower reaches of Milagra Creek have been including wildlife habitat, scenic natural corridors, altered and the channel hardened between Highway and flood control. Careful management of urban 1 to the ocean. waterways ensures maintenance of water quality, preservation of ecological functions, and safety of Sanchez Creek surrounding development. Understanding Pacifica’s Sanchez Creek watershed, located almost entirely surface water and groundwater resources provides a within the City, drains approximately 1,070 acres. context for policies for hydrology, water quality, and Much of it is within GGNRA, while valley bottoms management. and flatter portions of the hillsides include residen- tial development, Highway 1, and Sharp Park Golf Surface Water Course. Sanchez Creek has intermittent flow in most The Planning Area is located within all or part of years. nine watersheds, shown on Figure 7-1, Hydrol- At its mouth within the Coastal Zone, San- ogy. The Planning Area largely drains west towards chez Creek flows through Horse Stable Pond and the Pacific Ocean. From north to south, the major exchanges water with Laguna Salada within the watersheds are Milagra Creek, Sanchez Creek (also Sharp Park Golf Course. Creek flow is then conveyed known as Sharp Park Creek), Calera Creek, and San through a levee to the ocean via a system of pipes. Pedro Creek.1 A small portion of the Planning Area The discharge point of the pipe(s) is often buried in drains to the east, contributing to the upper basin of beach sands and is occasionally excavated to allow San Mateo Creek watershed. for free drainage. During high flows, water from the Milagra Creek golf course is pumped over the levee into the ocean. Milagra Creek watershed drains approximately 460 There are also several depressional and formerly estu- acres. The drainage area has varied land cover types, arine wetlands near the mouth of Sanchez Creek at including undeveloped portions of the GGNRA and Horse Stable Pond and Laguna Salada. 1 Other watersheds shown on Figure 7-1 (North Globe, Big Inch, etc.) are not associated with specific creeks. The lower reach of Calera Creek was part of a significant restoration project involving the excavation of a new stream channel and habi- tat restoration. The site receives tertiary-treated wastewater from the City’s new Water Recycling Plant. 7-2 PACIFICA GENERAL PLAN PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT FigureFigure 7-1: 7-1: Hydrology G AT WAY E D R Hydrology Northern Coastal D O LV Bluffs L B D (GGNRA) Y C E K O SKYLINE BLVD C A I Watersheds S H T FIRECREST AVE H W NORTH Y Creeks BIG GLOBE INCH INVERNESS DR Underground/Culvert E MONTEREY RD V A E M D DR O A DR N G N Water Treatment Facility M R TE KIN A ANO R T EY UR L CO P EN S GL E R D AVALON DR Stream Restoration Projects ANO MILLER AVE M R MILAG R EDGEMAR R DRA DR Milag D ra C SKYLINE BLVD VE re MILAGRA e H City Limits k G U O CREEK R O O B C T E S A Planning Area ALMETTO A E P N Milagra Ridge W A (GGNRA) B UNNAMED L V D PALOMA AVE Pacifica TAL Pier BOT ARK RD BEACH BLVD AVE P P R Y A A H MOANA W S CLARENDON RD SH A k BRADFORD WAY R e P Sharp Park Sharp L e Pacific U PA RD r N RK C Park D Beach Sharp Park Y ez W ch Golf Course A n Y S a Ocean FAIRWAY DR RIDGEWAY DRSANCHEZ SEA CREEK SIDE DR Mori Point (GGNRA) QUARRY Water Treatment REINA DEL MAR AVE Facility Sweeney Rockaway C Ridge a (GGNRA) Beach le ra Peninsula C Watershed R O r (SFPUC) C e R K CALERA CREEK e o A k c W AY k B a EA R C O w H B A E a VE SAN MATEO R FA T S y S SL C R E D R r CREEK A e V e E k Pacifica State Beach O OL S TER LINDA MARE BLVD RA D N O V C DR A R E PI R LAD S B R D RG E L EVE S D I V D P R S D E E L R L L GRAND AVE I C E V R I E D S S A a PERALTA RD WA n Y D V Pe L dr SAN PEDRO CREEK B Pedro Point o M AD C A ST Headlands N D r Z e D (GGNRA) A O e N ROSITA RD k I TA A D ADOBE RD LIC R A NTE LI DR LIN ND C A MAR O BLV K L D R N A P e k Broo Cre M k s i San Pedro Valley dd County Park le F eek o ro Cr r k San Ped Devil’s Slide Tunnel S . Fo Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,National rk S an Wetlands Inventory, 2011; FEMA, 2008; P e ESA, 2009; City of Pacifica, 2008; San d ro Mateo County, 2009; Dyett & Bhatia, C 0 1/4 1/2 1 2 re 2013. ek MILES 7-3 Calera Creek Rockaway Creek Calera Creek drains 16,000 acres in the central por- Rockaway Creek is south of Calera Creek in the tion of the City, flowing onto the north end of Rock- larger Calera Creek watershed. Rockaway Creek away Beach. Land use in the basin is dominated parallels Rockaway Beach Avenue, and flows into by residential neighborhoods with some businesses the southern end of Rockaway Beach. The upper along main roads. The contributing area of Calera portions of the watershed are primarily open space, Creek is altered along the valley bottom and near the while the valley bottom is comprised of a small resi- mouth. dential area, which follows the creek. The lower reach of Calera Creek was part of a sig- San Pedro Creek nificant restoration project implemented in 1997 and 1998, which included excavation of a new stream San Pedro Creek watershed is the largest within Paci- channel and restoration of 16 acres of wetlands and fica, draining approximately 5,300 acres. The water- 12 acres of uplands. The restoration site receives addi- shed extends north to Sweeney Ridge, east to Spring tional tertiary-treated wastewater from the Calera Valley Ridge, and south into the slopes of Montara Creek Water Recycling Plant (CCWRP), adding Mountain. San Pedro Creek has several tributaries approximately 3.6 million gallons per day (mgd) to extending past the City boundaries. These tributaries the lower reach. The amount of flow generated by the include the South Fork, Middle Fork, North Fork, CCWRP varies with rainfall and usage. The creek and Brooks/Sanchez Creek. is now perennial in the lower reach due to the input San Pedro Creek supports anadromous steelhead from the CCWRP. The creek was likely intermittent trout, a federally-listed endangered species. This in at least some years, and is still intermittent with creek also has one of the only functioning estuaries residual pools above the CCWRP discharge point. between the Devil’s Slide area and the Golden Gate San Pedro Creek has undergone numerous restoration projects along its reach through the Planning Area, addressing fish passage, flood control, and water quality. 7-4 PACIFICA GENERAL PLAN PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT 7 CONSERVATION Bridge. Wetlands along San Pedro Creek provide and groundwater storage data for the basin is mini- habitat for the threatened California red-legged frog. mal. The outflow of water from the aquifer occurs by evapotranspiration and seepage to streams, springs, The upper watershed is largely undeveloped, while and the ocean. The water table fluctuates seasonally. the lower portion is highly residential with commer- cial shopping centers at Park Mall and near Highway In a 1992 study, groundwater wells in the City were 1. Alterations from urban development have resulted monitored to determine the location of seasonally in a deep channel with steep banks. Channel down- shallow groundwater. The groundwater was mapped cutting and erosion throughout the reach has threat- for three depths below the ground surface: less than ened roads and structures, as many residential lots 1.5 feet; less than 3.0 feet; and less than 6.0 feet. back up against the creek. In order to protect the Communities with seasonally shallow groundwater banks, formal and informal bank stabilization tech- include Pedro Point, Park Pacifica, Vallemar, Fair- niques have been installed over the years. way Park, Linda Mar, and Sharp Park. The City and partners (including the California Seasonal Wetlands and Ponds Coastal Conservancy, Go Native, the Pacifica Land Trust, the California Department of Fish and Game, Seasonal wetlands occur in smaller drainages and the Army Corps of Engineers, and the State Water localized depressions, forming ponds or flowing Resources Control Board) have implemented resto- water, and are underlain by saturated soils during ration projects along the creek resulting in reduced the winter and spring. Seasonal wetlands also occur flooding of homes and businesses, reduced erosion of along the banks and sediments that accumulate in Pacifica/Linda Mar State Beach, and the conserva- creeks.