Pitch in to clean up our creeks

By Janice Rombeck , Mercury News
Thursday, September 8, 2005

Santa Clara Valley's creeks are home to wildlife, hiking and biking trails and natural beauty. But they also yield shopping carts, high school lockers, tires, syringes, thousands of fast-food containers and hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts.

Those are just some of the many items pulled out of creeks by volunteers who cleaned up trash deposited by people who use waterways as dumps, said Sandra Freitas of San Jose's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department.

She's one of the local organizers of the Sept. 17 Coastal Day Cleanup, which focuses on inland creeks and rivers as well as beaches along California's coast.

``Our goal for the day is to round up as many volunteers as possible and remove and haul out as much debris, trash and recyclable items out of creeks, lakes and reservoirs,'' she said. ``If we don't remove those items, they will end up in our ocean.''

The city's parks department has teamed up with the Santa Clara Valley Water District and the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department to form the Creek Connections Action Group. The group promotes inland waterways cleanups and education programs on water pollution.

The Sept. 17 cleanup -- the 21st annual -- will be from 9 a.m. to noon at 24 sites around the county. Last year's cleanup drew 1,200 volunteers, and organizers expect at least that number this year. Across the state, 40,000 volunteers turn out to cover 400 cleanup sites. In 1993, it was hailed by the Guinness Book of Records as `the world's largest garbage collection.''

In Santa Clara County alone, more than 30,800 pounds of trash and recyclable materials were removed last year.

``It's one of those events that gives an individual the opportunity to get into the outdoors and demonstrate some civic action,'' Freitas said.

Families are welcome, too, she said. All equipment is provided, including gloves. Volunteers are asked to wear long-sleeve shirts and pants, sturdy shoes, hats and sunscreen. Bottled water and snacks are available, but volunteers are asked to bring water as well.

``No volunteers go into creeks,'' she said, so don't worry about getting wet.

A map and listing of the cleanup sites across the county is available at www.valley water.org (click on the coastal cleanup icon and then 2005 Coastal Cleanup Day map). If you're interested in volunteering, choose a site and then call (408) 265-2607, extension 2238.

The local creeks needing attention are divided into the following segments:

SAN JOSE: Upper Penitencia Creek, north of Penitencia Creek Road between Noble Avenue and Piedmont Road; Upper Penitencia Creek, White Road to Penitencia Creek Road. Coyote Creek, William Street Park at William and 16th streets. Guadalupe River at Discovery Meadow; at Interstate 880 to Coleman Avenue; Interstate 280 to Story and Senter roads; at Kelley Park, Happy Hollow Park Zoo.

LOS GATOS: Lexington Reservoir, north to west shoreline; Los Gatos Creek, between Stokes Street and Hamilton Avenue; San Tomas Aquino Creek, at Westmont Avenue to Westmont and Quito Road and east of Quito Road between McCoy and Westmont avenues; Coyote Creek, at Palisades Road to Coyote Road; Canoas Creek, Blossom Hill Road to Cottle Road; Calero Creek, at the intersection of Harry Road and Camden Avenue.

SUNNYVALE: Sunnyvale West Channel, from Mathilda to Caribbean Drive. Calabazas Creek, Highway 101 to Great America Parkway.

CUPERTINO: Stevens Creek Reservoir at Stevens Creek County Park; use Interstate 280 and go south on Foothill Boulevard.

PALO ALTO: San Francisquito Creek, Newell Road to Pope-Chaucer streets.

MOUNTAIN VIEW: Permanente Creek, Highway 101 to Villa Street. Stevens Creek, El Camino/Hwy 85 to South El Camino.

MORGAN HILL: Llagas Creek, from Villa Ciollino to Edmundson Avenue.

GILROY: Coyote Lake at Coyote Lake County Park, at the day use area. Uvas Creek, at Santa Teresa to Thomas Road and Miller Crossing to Santa Teresa Boulevard.

Contact Janice Rombeck at jrombeck@mercurynews.com or (408) 275-0917.