Estrategias de aprendizaje

There are three river corridor activities which do not fit into other potential contaminating source activities; goose management at Lake Natoma, pet waste management, and illegal camping/homelessness along the Lower American River.

In the 2003 Update it was recognized that a significant population of waterfowl has become resident at Lake Natoma due to improvements completed along the south shore, known as Nimbus Flat. Feeding of this waterfowl population at Nimbus Flat has become a popular recreational past-time for many people in the area and has resulted in increased resident waterfowl population. The report also noted that there was a significant amount of pet waste, particularly dog waste, accumulating in the American River Parkway and possibly being transported to the Lower American River during storm events.

There is a continuous, though shifting, population of homeless people and illegal encampments in the lowest three miles of the Lower American River. The illegal camps become littered with debris, garbage, and human sewage and are a source of contamination in the watershed.

Seasonal Patterns

The waterfowl population at Lake Natoma consists of both resident (year-round) and migratory (spring and fall) populations of geese. The Canadian Geese that are migratory are a protected species.

The American River Parkway is used year-round by local residents for walking dogs and exercising. During this process, many dogs make waste, and historically it has frequently been left behind by the owners.

The illegal camping along the Lower American River is typically located within the flood plain. For this reason, the principal concern is that contaminants associated with the sites, including human waste, may be washed off during storm events and transported to the American River.

Related Constituents

Both the waterfowl population, pet population, and the illegal camps are potential sources of fecal waste. The human waste associated with illegal camps may have a disproportionately high load of disease-causing organisms since, as noted in the Sacramento County and Cities Board on Homelessness’ Five Year Plan, there is

“substantial documentation of high incidence of diseases among the homeless population.”

Presence in the Watershed

The waterfowl population of concern is located at Lake Natoma, and is principally concentrated at Nimbus Flat. There has been no official study on the waterfowl population at the lake. DPR staff indicate that there is a resident goose population ranging from 50 to 200 birds and an additional migratory population that is present in the spring and fall.

Dog walking and exercising occurs throughout the American River Parkway. Some of the heaviest use areas are those near neighborhood enclaves, generally between Sunrise Avenue and Paradise Beach.

Illegal camps are created largely in the American River Parkway, mostly downstream of the Business 80 bridge crossing, close to social services in downtown Sacramento.

There are County and City ordinances which ban illegal camping in the American River Parkway, and this is enforced by the City of Sacramento Park Services and Sacramento County Park Rangers. All static camps on County property are dismantled and occupants are forced to move. There is other land within the floodplain which is either owned by the City of Sacramento or privately where homeless populations illegally camp. Most of the camps are located near the river. The City of Sacramento Park Services also enforces illegal camping bans but has more limited involvement with only the City or privately owned lands within the City limits located within the American River floodplain, but which are not officially Parkway designated lands.

During the study period, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) worked in conjunction with the County Park Rangers to clean out a major encampment located on Caltrans property on the north side of the American River Parkway near the Highway 160 crossing. This resulted in a majority of the homeless population moving to a new encampment located slightly downstream on the Southside of the floodplain near the Blue Diamond facility on C Street.

Regulation and Management

Management of the river corridor activities consists of local efforts only; there is limited state regulatory assistance with respect to pollution control. The existing local efforts exist on both the north and south sides of the Lower American River.

California Department of Parks and Recreation

Currently, there is an ordinance by DPR to prohibit feeding of the wildlife at Lake Natoma, however there is limited enforcement by Park Rangers due to limitations on resources. There is signage at Nimbus Flat to dissuade recreators from feeding the geese, but this is only in English and is not widely displayed. Since the Canadian Goose is a protected species, DPR is not allowed to cull the birds, collect their eggs, or harass them into relocating.

As part of the Draft Folsom Lake General Plan/Resource Management Plan Update discussed in the Recreation subsection previously, there is a guideline for preventing or discouraging the feeding of geese at Nimbus Flat.

County of Sacramento Department of Regional Parks, Recreation and Open Space

Sacramento County Parks Department manages two of the river corridor activities: pet waste and illegal camping. The County Parks Department has administered the Pups on the Parkway program, since it was created in 2004, which provides 13 pet waste stations along the American River Parkway. The American River Parkway Foundation has served as the coordinator for purchasing the Mutt Mitts® which are provided to the County Parks Department. County Park Ranger staff have included water quality stewardship messages (including dog waste pickup) on County message boards installed along the Parkway. Stations with Mutt Mitts® can be found at the following locations along the American River Parkway:

x Paradise Beach

x Waterton Way

x Mira Del Rio Drive

x Rod Beaudry Drive

x Sunrise Bridge Crossing

x Gold River

x Kadema Drive

x Estates Drive

x Jacob Lane

x Arden Way

x Sailor Bar

x Sarah Court

x San Lorenzo Drive

In the American River Parkway (specifically the property owned by Sacramento County), park rangers clean up the camps and also direct County Sheriff work crews in cleanup efforts. “Grabber sticks” are used to pick up toilet paper where possible, but human waste and decomposing paper are left on the ground due to health and aesthetic concerns with close handling of the waste. In Fiscal Year 2005/2006 the County budget allowed for restoration of two park ranger positions as well as adding five

positions (rangers and maintenance workers) that are dedicated to patrolling the lower six miles of the Lower American River. These added positions were specifically designed to address illegal camping in the Parkway and to allow for clean-up and restoration of public lands. The Illegal Camping Detail acquired a Sheriff’s work detail bus on a weekly basis in FY 2006/2007 to allow for more timely removal of camping debris.

The numbers of homeless people has also stabilized to around 100, and these people are still predominantly a service-resistant population living in the furthest downstream three-mile reach of the American River. There is a “no-alcohol” area from the Capital City Freeway Bridge crossing to Discovery Park. Rangers confiscate alcohol as well as cite and jail people for illegal camping in this area. In August 2006 the County Board of Supervisors also passed a ban on alcohol in non-motorized vessels between Hazel Avenue and Discovery Park on summer holiday weekends (Memorial Day, 4^th July, and Labor Day).

The American River Parkway Annual Report is published annually by Sacramento County and provides some general law enforcement statistics. The statistics were extracted from a database that includes all of Sacramento County park ranger activities, including the American River Parkway. Table 4-8 below provides a summary of citations and arrests from 2003 to 2007.

Table 4-8

American River Parkway Law Enforcement Statistics

Action 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Citations 2,703 2,756 2,405 2,179 2,522 Arrests 127 196 223 95 99

Included in the citations summary is illegal camping. In 2004 there were 152 illegal camping citations, in 2005 there were 128 citations, in 2006 there were 93 citations, and in 2007 there were 99 citations. These statistics are fairly consistent with the previous years. The increase in arrests in 2004 is partly attributable to outstanding warrant arrests stemming from illegal camping citations where the violator failed to appear in court as promised.

Community Services Planning Council

In November 2005 the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency contracted with the Community Services Planning Council (CSPC) to develop a “10 Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness”. Sacramento City and County have committed to ending chronic homelessness by unanimously adopting the Plan in September of 2006. The Plan describes innovative new strategies to address chronic homelessness.

The CSPC is an “umbrella” organization that develops, nurtures and sustains programs in the Sacramento region by convening groups to address issues and providing technical assistance and leadership development. CSPC assisted in the development of

the plan and currently provides staffing services for the Policy Board and Interagency Council.

The essential components of the Plan to solving the problems of homelessness are:

1. Housing First

2. Outreach and Central Intake 3. Prevention

4. Leadership

5. Evaluation and Reporting to the Community

The Policy Board is made up of high-level public and private sector community leaders and has the task of providing strategic direction, oversight, and advocacy for the Plan and for homeless services as a whole.

The Interagency Council is made up of government agencies, service providers, and community stakeholders and has the task of planning and coordinating service delivery and recommending policies and strategies to the Policy Board.

The Interagency Council also includes over ten committees which focus on making improvements in systems that affect homeless people in Sacramento County, such as the healthcare sector and the criminal justice system. These committees report their activities and proposals to the Interagency Council which in turn makes recommendations to the Policy Board.

CPSC has conducted two annual homeless counts in Sacramento to supplement the initial counts collected as part of the planning process. The counts are not broken down, but rather total within Sacramento County. The total homeless counts were as follows: 2003 – 2,422, 2005 – 2,229, 2007 – 2,452, and 2008 – 2,678. There was a small decrease in 2005, but overall there has been an increase in the total population during the study period. The data from 2007 and 2008 did identify the number of homeless who were considered “unsheltered” and this would represent those who would be living in the American River Parkway. In 2007 there were 1,005 and in 2008 there were 1,266, a 25 percent increase.

The Plan has resulted in the construction of three new Permanent Supportive Housing projects that will house up to 130 homeless beginning in the fall of 2008.

American River Parkway Plan

In 2006, Sacramento County adopted a final American River Parkway Plan. The purpose of the Parkway Plan is to provide a guide to land use decisions affecting the Parkway. This specifically addresses its preservation, use, development and administration. The Parkway Plan is a policy and action document and is designed to preserve the naturalistic environment of the Parkway while providing limited developments to facilitate human enjoyment. This document is adopted into the General Plan of Sacramento County and also referenced in the General Plans for the cities of Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. The goals of the Parkway Plan are:

“To provide, protect and enhance for public use a continuous open space greenbelt along the American River extending from the Sacramento River to Folsom Dam.

¾ To provide appropriate access and facilities so that present and future generations can enjoy the amenities and resources of the Parkway which enhance the enjoyment of leisure activities.

¾ To preserve, protect, interpret and improve the natural, archaeological, historical and recreational resources of the Parkway, including an adequate flow of high quality water, anadromous and resident fishes, migratory and resident wildlife, and diverse natural vegetation.

¾ To mitigate adverse effects of activities and facilities adjacent to the Parkway.

¾ To provide public safety and protection within and adjacent to the Parkway.”

The concept policies of the Parkway Plan include: balanced management, recreation, resource protection, land use, and cooperation.

Water Quality Issues and Data Review

GSWC’s Coloma WTP collects E. coli data on a weekly basis from the raw water. The raw water is diverted from the Folsom South Canal, which originates from the south side of Lake Natoma near Nimbus Flat. Monthly medians were calculated for each month during the study period, and it was determined that the data at the Coloma WTP did not follow the same trend as the majority of the water treatment plants, which have increasing levels of coliform during the winter months associated with storm events.

Figure 4-5 presents the monthly median E. coli values for the Coloma WTP. It can be seen that the peak levels of each year occur generally in May or June and again between September and November. These peaks do not correlate with any documented spills or discharges and do not correlate to recreational activities in the watershed. It is uncertain, but possible, that the levels may be impacted by waterfowl population waste at Lake Natoma.

Pet waste and illegal camping have the potential to contribute coliform and solids to the source water. This would typically occur during storm events when runoff picks up waste and debris. Turbidity and coliform levels on the Lower American River do show peak events during the wet season, but how much these activities contribute is uncertain.

Figure 4-5. Golden State Water Company Coloma WTP E. coli Average Monthly Medians, 2003 - 2007

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

MPN/100mL

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Source Water Protection Efforts

When the “Pups on the Parkway” campaign was initiated in 2004 to install dog waste bag dispenser stations at selected locations along the parkway and promote dog waste pickup, several participating water utilities became sponsors, including GSWC, CWD, the City of Sacramento, EBMUD, and SCWA. These participating water utilities provide funding to the American River Parkway Foundation for purchase of the Mutt Mitts®. County Parks staff report that approximately 40,000 Mutt Mitts® are used per year, and they believe the stations have provided a significant reduction in presence of dog waste in the Parkway.

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