From a rip-roaring flow to a calm trickle, the local creek system is an important feature of San Luis Obispo.
San Luis Obispo Creek runs through the heart of downtown and is both an urban amenity and a vital watershed during winter storms. City Biologist Freddy Otte said it’s constantly being maintained.
“As the creeks kind of converge on San Luis Obispo proper, that's where we have to be more concerned about the potential for pollution impacts just from the developed area, but also the constriction that we see,” Otte said.
John Pillow is a co-owner of Four Seasons Outfitters. The business sits on the bank of the creek right before the Marsh Street bridge and though it didn’t flood during the most recent storm, it has before.
“There was water in the middle of our parking lot, a shallow river running from the back of behind the creek, behind the building next to us and the water just came up to the concrete level," Pillow recalled.
After last week's storm system, areas where Stenner Creek and San Luis Creek converge were at very high levels as well as downstream near the Marsh Street Bridge. Currently, the Mid-Higuera Bypass Project is in the works to help mitigate flooding in those areas of the creek.
But Otte says what they learned from the January 2023 storms is that being proactive about debris removal helps water continue to flow even when levels rise.
“Especially with the built environment, we have to make sure that we've got enough capacity to be able to pass flows through the system here so that we don't have to be as concerned about flooding, especially with the downtown core and businesses," he said.
And while the runoff does collect pollution from the urban environment, Otte says that the heavy rains actually make the water cleaner.
“The solution to pollution is dilution, and so at least it's not as toxic as it can be with all that stuff being concentrated because there is such a flow coming through," Otte said.
He adds the presence of steelhead trout during this time is an indicator that the creek is healthy.
“The female steelhead will slap her tail against the creek bed and create a depression and that's where she would be laying her eggs,” Otte explained.
He says the Mid-Higuera Bypass project is slated to be completed by the end of 2025.
