1. San Diego’s Watershed and and Examination of Land Cover in Relation to Pollution Tamera Ashcraft 30 November 2000

2. Outline Background on the San Diego River, Mission Bay and San Diego Bay Contamination and Habitat Destruction in the Bays The San Diego Watershed Urbanization of San Diego Summary

3. San Diego River History The San Diego River originally flowed into San Diego Bay Attempt to divert it in 1853 by the Army Corps of Engineers – failed Another attempt in 1875 – successful SD river drains 440 sq. miles

4. San Diego History 1870’s - San Diego population was 2300 Population in 1900 was 18,000 The population doubled from 250,000 in 1940 to 500,000 in 1948 Sea World built In 1940 plan to fill in the marshes on the south side of Mission Bay to make an airport

5. Mission Bay Mission Bay drains approx 53 sq. miles Mission Bay water quality problems from bacterial contamination and from urban runoff High nutrient load High heavy metal content Implementing plans to limit non-point source pollution

6. San Diego Bay 415 sq. miles watershed drainage SD Bay has been contaminated by the power plant cooling, dammed tributaries, urban runoff, heavy metals from ships, and from a salt production plant

7. Area of Study An area of Southern California An area of increasing population growth An area where rare habitats –Salt Marsh and Torrey Pines - are being threatened by urbanization and dredging

8. San Diego River This is the San Diego area Highlighted is the San Diego River It flows through a reservoir, a dam, and finally into Mission Bay

9. San Diego Watershed ¼ of the San Diego River watershed is used for urban or agricultural purposes The San Diego River deposits bacteria- and nutrient-rich water into the Bay

10. Urban San Diego County This is the portion of San Diego County that is Urban The salt marsh habitats have been nearly eliminated Salt marsh is important for cleansing the water and as habitat for marine invertebrates and juvenile fish San Diego Bay and Mission Bay have been damaged by dredging and habitat destruction

11. Land Use/Land Cover This is Land Use/ Land Cover Data for the San Diego Bay and Mission Bay areas The Urban area is highlighted in blue (all of the area is urban)

12. Land Use Bays, lakes, reservoirs Residential, commercial Cropland, pasture, orchard Urban Shrub and Brush Rangeland Evergreen Forest Land Transitional Areas, Exposed Rock Transportation, Community, Utility

13. Summary The San Diego River has been diverted from San Diego Bay into Mission Bay San Diego’s population continues to grow – urbanization is rampant This has resulted in a lot of habitat destruction What is the fate of the endangered species that depend on the contaminated water of the San Diego area and the salt marsh which is being destroyed?