San Lorenzo River Watershed

California is very drought-prone and some areas don't really have any flooding risks. The San Lorenzo Watershed had experienced flooding historically from the mid-19th century to the early eighties. In 1959, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed a major flood control project in response to the "Christmas Flood" of 1955 in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County is home to hundreds of tree species. The mountains are classified as a temperate rainforest within a Mediterranean climate. In small clusters, there are old growths of redwoods and Douglas- fir within Henry Cowell, Big Basin and Portola redwoods parks.

Santa Cruz, California |  https://coastal-watershed.org/ 

California has a higher homeless population rate than any other state in the U.S. Santa Cruz county is currently dealing with a higher-than-usual homeless population which is resulting in public and environmental health water issues such as pollution from human waste, trash and drug paraphernalia and increased erosion along the shores.

In 2012, California become the first state to legislatively recognize the human right to water declaring that "every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes" (Water Code Section 106.3). The Central Coast Water Board recognizes people's access to water and protecting human health (in relation to water) as some of their top priorities (California Water Boards).

California Water Boards. "Environmental Justice and California's Human Right to Water Law" 2019.  https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/centralcoast/water_issues/programs/wqh.html 

The Urban Watch Program is an annual water quality monitoring program run by the Coastal Watershed Council in partnership with the City of Capitola. The program's goals are to collect scientifically-valid water quality data to support decision making and engage local watershed residents to protect their water quality (Coastal Watershed Council). Local resident volunteers are trained to collect water samples and perform water quality assessments in local creeks and storm drains. Identified areas of concern are storm drains collecting human-caused runoff such as sprinklers, car washing, agriculture and pet waste.

Invasive species are present throughout the San Lorenzo Watershed. Some species, like ice plants and eucalyptus have obvious effects on the surrounding land, but some, like the Mexican fan palm have relatively unknown effects.

Some invasive species are dealt with immediately and are removed or relocated as needed, but some are so present in the area that they cannot ever be properly removed.

These invasive plants and animals can cause numerous problems. Plants can overrun crops on farms, affect livestock nutrition, reduce animal habitats and restrict oxygen levels in water for fish. Invasive animals can take resources (food, water and shelter) away from native animals and reduce their numbers by hunting them.