Regional Water Board Poised to Act on Creekside Pollution of Creeks

Regional Water Board Poised to Act on Creekside Pollution of Creeks
By Richard McMurtry

On November 12, 2014, homeless activists from San Jose spoke out at a meeting of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board in Oakland, the state agency responsible for protecting our streams from pollution. They stood up for basic human services (sanitation, wash, trash pickup) at existing homeless encampments to prevent pollution of the creeks. They advocated for the creation of managed homeless villages with proper sanitation, wash facilities, trash pickup and shelter from the elements and with opportunities for the homeless to be stewards of the creek by keeping it clean.   

They also called on the Regional Board to issue enforcement orders to the owners of creekside properties – Santa Clara Valley Water District, City of San Jose, County of Santa Clara, CALTRANS – to pick up the trash in the creek and along its banks and provide sanitary facilities to prevent discharge of human waste to the creek.

Mr. James McGrath, vice-chair of the Board, said, "I can’t imagine this would not be a high priority for this board. I have walked several miles of creek and seen mountains of trash in the creeks and along its banks on public agency and private land. This is not just a City of San Jose problem. There must be a better way to address human waste collection other than provision of dry bags."

The Board indicated their desire to have this issue put on an agenda for a future meeting of the Board and to create a subcommittee of the Board to focus on this issue. Perhaps the current impasse around addressing homeless-related creek pollution is about to make a major shift!