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Water summit brings
together Pilarcitos Creek stakeholders Committee for Green Foothills leaders met in Half Moon Bay recently with state and federal wildlife agencies, coastside water and sewer agencies, the City of Half Moon Bay, the City and County of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Farm Bureau, anda number of environmental groups at a day-long "water summit" to discuss restoring the Pilarcitos Creek watershed. Pilarcitos Creek, which originates along the Skyline Ridge near Highway 92 and flows through Half Moon Bay to the ocean, has been significantly altered by dams, diversions, and channelization. The northern portion of the watershed lies behind Pilarcitos Lake, and is diverted east by San Francisco into Crystal Springs Lakes. Below Stone Dam, the creek provides a significant percentage of water used by the Coastside County Water District. Near the mouth of the stream, a plethora of groundwater wells causes the creek to go dry in late summer.  Dependent on this water supply are many species of wildlife, including the federally-threatened steelhead trout, the threatened California red-legged frog, and the endangered San Francisco garter snake - all suffering from low water levels. The water summit was the brainchild of the Pilarcitos Creek Advisory Committee (PCAC), a group of stakeholders with representatives from the environmental, agricultural, commercial fisheries and restoration communities. Lennie Roberts represents Committee for Green Foothills on the PCAC, which was formed to advise on spending over $1 million in fines from a disastrous failure of a sediment pond on BFI's property back in 1993. The mission of the PCAC is to restore habitat conditions within the watershed for the native plant and animal communities and the public benefit of enhanced water quality. The Pilarcitos Creek Restoration Plan, prepared by Philip Williams and Associates for the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Department of Fish and Game, has served as the framework for restoration projects. The Plan identified five major issues of concern in the creek: 1) reduced streamflows, 2) degraded fish habitat, 3) bank erosion and loss of riparian vegetation and habitat, 4) watershed erosion and channel sedimentation, and 5) exotic vegetation. The PCAC organized the summit, which was cosponsored by Committee for Green Foothills, as a first step in bringing together stakeholders to discuss how the competing uses of water from Pilarcitos can be better managed, and whether other water sources, such as treated wastewater, could be substituted for water currently being taken from the creek and its aquifer. It was an interesting challenge to get the various stakeholders to agree to participate in the summit, but it is encouraging that we have all found some common ground on which to agree. The opportunity to restore riparian habitat and flows in Pilarcitos Creek and its lagoon will benefit the aquatic species and riparian habitats as well as the residents, businesses, and visitors to Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County Coastside, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Of course, in addition to habitat restoration, the success of the long-term restoration of the creek is linked to better management of stream flows, water conservation, and the use of treated wastewater for non-potable purposes in the lower part of the watershed, delivered to the end-users safely and economically. The Water Summit was a first step forward: many different parties with numerous interests participated and listened to each other. As we continue the process, we will strive toward finding a balanced solution to the Pilarcitos Creek stream flow issues. Working as partners, rather than as adversaries, we can craft sound solutions that satisfy environmental, agricultural, public health and economic interests.
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