Santee’s New Clean Water Manager

Ensuring the city of Santee complies with the Clean Water Act requires a person with multiple talents and the ability to switch hats when needed.

Newly hired Stormwater Program Manager Cecilia Tipton said she’s comfortable with the various roles she must play to keep the city in good standing with state water-quality regulators.

Cities are encouraged to increase the public’s awareness about the vital role individuals play in preventing water-borne pollutants from harming the watersheds that drains into the San Diego River.   In her role as teacher, Tipton has a strategy for making her message relevant.

“Tying our message to specific community interests (such as fishing at nearby reservoirs and the San Diego River) is important,” she said. “That way, you can get user buy-in; then it becomes important to them.”

Making the connection between clean water and recreational fishing would be easy if everyone realized how cumulative acts such as littering or dumping soapy water into the storm drain can adversely impact water quality.

“The typical person doesn’t stop to think about the different layers of how our water system works,” she said.

Beyond public education, Tipton also is required to be a local water-quality cop. If she sees a construction site without proper erosion controls, she must stop construction or take other measures to enforce the state’s strict rules on preventing sediment transport.

The section of the river in Santee is currently listed by the state as “impaired” due to excess sediment.

“With all the new development that’s going on in Santee, that’s one of our biggest priorities,” she said. “We’re definitely paying a lot of attention to that.”

In San Diego County, the state regulates stormwater under a regional permit that requires all 18 cities and the county to coordinate and standardize their local regulations. This requires Tipton to be a collaborator.

She developed these skills while she was employed for 8.5 years with the county’s Watershed Protection Program.  She was hired by the county after graduating from San Diego State University with a specialized Bachelor’s degree in geology, environmental politics and technical writing.

This May, the stormwater manager job became more demanding and complex when the state adopted new regulations requiring cities to increase inspections in residential neighborhoods.

“Before we would respond to residential complaints (about illegal dumping, etc.), but now we have to actually develop and implement a residential compliance program,” she said.

Tipton, whose first day on the job was Dec. 9, said her first weeks have been a flurry of activity.

“The days go by fast, that’s for sure,” she said. “It’s been go, go, go.”

Editor's note: Tipton is a Santee resident

Santee Turns Mast Park into a Classroom

Shannon Quigley of SD River Foundation with 4th graders

Santee city staffers  teamed up with the San Diego River Park Foundation to be guest teachers during a recent field trip with local fourth graders along the San Diego River.

The science-oriented excursion took place at Mast Park, where students from Rio Seco Elementary School learned about the river’s wildlife, water quality and ecology.

Fourth graders from teacher Heather Glanz’s  class took photos and notes, which they took back to the classroom to expand on what they had learned in the field.

Shannon Quigley of the River Foundation showed students the proper way to take water samples from the river and test them for acidity, dissolved oxygen and water clarity.

Simulating how pollutants enter the river

“I loved when we were all at the river dipping our samples and waiting for the temperature to normalize and counting to 60 together out loud,” Quigley said.

Santee Storm Water Program intern Nicole Sabay provided a lesson on how trash and pollutants carried by storm drains end up in the river and affect the water quality and wildlife.

 To illustrate how pollutants enter the river, Sabay  had students pour liquid into a plastic tube (simulating a storm drain) that emptied into a large plastic basin with rubber ducks and plastic fish.

Sarah Hutmacher and Shelsea Ochoa  from the River Foundation gave a lesson on native plants and leaf adaptation, allowing the kids to inspect the flora up-close with magnifiers.

“Through hands-on exploration of native plants, insects, and water quality, we hope to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards,” Hutmacher said.

Arborist Annette Saul, Santee’s Parks and Landscape Supervisor, explained the benefits of native trees and plants.

 “It was really fun to see how excited the kids were to be in an outdoor classroom,” Saul said.  “The students were able to understand how the river, native plants and trees are all connected in our local environment.”

Santee Turns San Diego River into a Classroom

Santee city staffers pitched in today as guest teachers for a group of Rio Seco Elementary School 4th graders that made a science-oriented field trip along the San Diego River at Mast Park.

Two City Hall workers teamed up with Shannon Quigley of the San Diego River Park Foundation and Rio Seco 4th grade teacher Heather Glanz to offer facts and insights into the river’s ecology.

The students, in turn, took detailed notes that will come in handy for writing stories about their field trip. At one point, a duck unexpectedly blurted out a loud quack that interrupted the lesson, causing the children to bellow with laughter.


City Arborist Annette Saul and Shannon Quigley

“The students really enjoyed the opportunity to step out of the classroom and step into nature, where they could do hands-on learning activities,” said City Arborist Annette Saul, who shared teaching duties with Stormwater Program Manager Helen Davies.

“The kids were engaged and excited about what they were learning, “ Ms. Saul noted. “They also got the chance to observe the ducks and other wildlife along the river.”

Escorted by a half-dozen volunteer parent chaperones, nearly 30 pupils walked about a quarter-mile from their school to the bridge at Mast Park that spans the river adjacent to the Mission Creek community.

Ms. Davies gave a lesson on how trash and pollutants carried by storm drains end up in the river and affect the water quality and wildlife.

“You can be a protector of the river just by being careful,” she said.

She explained how everyone can help safeguard the river by preventing trash, dirt, oil or household waste from getting into storm drain inlets and curb cuts. Storm drains are underground pipes that transport rain or excess irrigation water from city streets.

In her lesson, Ms. Saul focused on the effects that non-native invasive plant , such as the vine-like primrose, have on the river’s ecosystem.  These thick-growing vines crowd out native vegetation, slowing down the river’s flow. The stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and allows algae to bloom, depleting the dissolved oxygen level and making it difficult for fish and other aquatic creatures to survive.

Santee Stormwater Program Manager Helen Davies

Ms. Saul also showed students a tube-like device underneath the bridge that serves as a kind of trap that biologists use to detect the presence of non-native invasive mussel species.

Using water samples gathered from the river and testing kits, Ms. Quigley showed the students how to measure key water-quality indicators such as acidity or PH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity or cloudiness caused by sediment.  The water testing was being done in conjunction with World Water Monitoring Day, she said, a global event to raise awareness about clean water.

 

 

 

 

 

Keep Pesticides and Fertilizers Out of Our River

Many folks don't make the connection between the health of the San Diego River and the chemicals they apply to their lawns, gardens and landscaping.

The fact is, rain transports fertilizers and pesticides to the nearest creek or storm drain, and it ends up in the river where it can harm wildlife.

To protect the river's water quality, please do not fertilize your garden or landscaping within three days of a weather forecast predicting rain.  When applying pesticides, follow the manufacturer's directions and use only the amount your plants need.

Unused fertilizer cannot be tossed in the trash.  It must be taken to a household hazardous waste facility.  Call the Waste Management customer service department at (619) 596-5100 to set up an appointment.

Thank you for helping to protect our river.

No ifs, ands or butts, please

There’s a simple solution to keeping cigarette butts out of our waterways: Don’t toss them on the ground.

Seems like a no-brainer, right?  The message is worth reinforcing because there are still too many cigarette butts that end up along our rivers and beaches.

Last year, cigarette butts were the most common item collected along the county’s beaches, with more than 50,000 reported in 2011 compared to about 35,000 five years ago.

Cigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate, a hardy plastic that takes 15 to 20 years to decompose. Discarded filters contain chemicals that can harm aquatic life. They often end up on beaches because they’re flicked out of moving vehicles or dropped on sidewalks then travel to storm drains and streams.

So if you’re a smoker, please use portable ashtrays to store cigarette butts until they can be properly disposed of in a trash can.