TECC Joins the San Diego Stream Team

With expanding growth and development, the waters of the San Diego Region face increasing degradation from channelization, urban runoff, and loss of habitat. There is increasing awareness and concern among citizens of San Diego County regarding public health risks associated with recreational water use, drinking water supply, loss of habitat, and water quality degradation. The San Diego Stream Team (SDST) is a citizen monitoring group dedicated to the biological assessment of San Diego rivers and streams. It uses state and federally defined techniques and focuses on education of the public regarding the biological condition of the local waters and its importance relative to the watershed.

Proper sampling and analysis of Benthic Macroinvertebrates (BMI) (mostly insects) communities can result in rapid, accurate, inexpensive, and easily communicated assessments of stream health. Last March, as TECC's Associate Director, I attended a three-day workshop to learn the California Stream Bioassessment Procedure (CSBP) for use in rivers and streams. Training was hosted by the SDST and taught by Jim Harrington, of the Sustainable Land Stewardship International Institute (SLSII) in Sacramento. The workshop was held at Mission Trails Regional Park. Emphasis was placed on preparing teams to collect and process BMI samples. Two days were spent in the classroom and one in the field learning sampling and habitat bioassessment techniques. I immediately recognized the importance of TECC becoming an active partner in the Stream Team.

Volunteer members do all the work. The CSBP stream sampling and habitat bioassessment is performed in the field. Dissecting microscopes are then used to process collected data in a laboratory setting. Data results are shared statewide with government agencies and citizen monitoring organizations and will be an important component of environmental impact assessment, regulatory compliance, and environmental restoration in the coming decade. It is interesting to note that the new storm water permit issued by the RWQCB (see grand jury article) requires the co-permitees to do BMI sampling and analysis to the genus level in addition to chemical testing.

As a Stream Team member, I attend monthly meetings and collect samples twice a year and as needed. Quarterly seminars and as many as four training workshops each year keep members current. My fellow sampling team members include Isabelle Kay and Dr. Alan Thum. This year, we have already conducted our sampling over two days in mid-June-- later than usual because of spring rains. Normal sampling times are April/May and October/November.

The program Advisor, Dave Gibson, chose four sampling sites: Two on Agua Hedionda Creek and two on Escondido Creek, one of those is on TECC’s new 76-acre preserve. Reaching test sites can present challenging hikes into "the heart of darkness"- forging trails through infestations of poison oak-while laden with sampling tools, nets, GPS equipment, notebooks, etc. Other sites are more accessible but require agility and balance, bounding up and downstream on slippery boulders and fording creeks in practical, yet fashionable hip boots.

Processing is a tedious, yet satisfying task; recognizing and isolating each bug under the microscope is actually quite exciting! A problem particular to San Diego’s creeks is the inordinate amount of algae which wreaks havoc on sampling. I had a particularly "ugly" sample from the San Diego River on my first day; it took three hours to locate the required 100 bugs. I'm told that experience will improve my elapsed time.

A Brief History of SDST

In 1991, Dave Gibson was approached by Doc Hunsaker to work on bioassessment in the Santa Margarita River. Dave had been collecting and identifying San Diego aquatic insects as his special area of interest since 1987. A one-day workshop was held in December 1998, and is considered the official start of SDST. With help from Linda Pardy and support from Jim Harrington of SLSII, the first samples were collected in the spring of 1999.

The current SDST Coordinator is Dr. Neal Biggart while Dave Gibson is the SDST technical advisor. Both are optimistic the SDST will continue to grow and develop into a major player among environmental groups, creek conservancies, and lagoon foundations in part because of their shared mission to protect and restore San Diego's invaluable water resources.

Membership is free and open to anyone interested in stream ecology and biology. Indian tribal members, teachers, students, natural resource management professionals, and private citizens can all benefit from SDST membership, activities, and educational opportunities. Among the many benefits, members receive free training and support for their bioassessment projects and have access to all necessary equipment and supplies. Whether you prefer the outdoor aspects of sampling or the laboratory processing, SDST is in need of your time and talent.

Contact TECC for more information.

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it."

-Norman Maclean