City of San José, Baykeeper Reach Environmental Agreement

San Francisco Baykeeper and the city of San José announced a legal agreement to make the Bay Area’s largest city more environmentally conscious. The San José City Council approved the agreement with Baykeeper during a public meeting Tuesday, June 14, 2016.

San José committed to making future environmental investments by implementing more storm water capture projects, also known as “green infrastructure.” The anticipated long-term benefits include a reduction in pollutants entering creeks, recharging of groundwater supplies and beautification of the city landscape.

Urban storm water runoff is widely considered to be the largest source of pollution in the San Francisco Bay. When rain falls on streets, roofs, parking lots and other hard surfaces, it washes trash and other pollutants into gutters and storm drains. In most Bay Area cities, storm drains drain directly into the bay or they empty into local creeks and rivers that flow to the bay, without filtration or treatment.

“Baykeeper approached San José with its concerns and is proud to have reached an agreement that will not only reduce harmful pollution in San Francisco Bay, but also makes San José a greener place to call home,” said Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh. “San José’s green infrastructure program represents a model for future pollution control and water supply in California.”

“We look forward to our partnership with Baykeeper to build on existing efforts to keep our creeks and bay clean,” said Kerrie Romanow, director of the San José Environmental Services Department. “Through this new agreement with Baykeeper, San José will further its efforts in managing storm water runoff in an environmentally sensitive manner.”

In addition to its commitment to implement a more robust green infrastructure program, San José will take further measures to target trash and potential sewage discharges. The city will invest in the installation of more capture systems that collect trash from storm water before it reaches rivers and streams and will also improve its sanitary sewer system to prevent sewage from potentially migrating into the storm sewer system.

Over a five-year period, San José will provide $1 million to the San Jose Parks Foundation for projects to reduce trash and human waste pollution, restore habitats and improve the water quality of Coyote Creek and the Guadalupe River. 

Source: San José News & Information