Santa Clara County does not have one main organization in charge of creeks. Instead, Valley Water, public agencies and private property owners share the responsibility to maintain these waterways.
Valley Water owns or has access to maintain approximately 333 of the 800 miles of creeks located in the county’s urbanized valley areas. The remaining stretches of creeks are owned by private property owners whose lands extend into them and by public agencies, including Santa Clara County and the cities where the creeks are located.
Valley Water has built flood protection projects (improved channels) on 185 of the 333 miles of creeks it owns or has access to maintain. The other remaining 148 miles are natural, unmodified creek and river channels.
Valley Water manages flood protection projects and the land on which they are built to maintain flow conveyance. We take care of the channels we’ve constructed and improved to make sure they stay strong and functional. This is a significant investment, but it helps us protect against flooding.
We perform regular maintenance under our Stream Maintenance Program, which seven state and federal regulatory agencies have approved. Our agency provides flood protection and stream restoration projects to reduce flood risk and promote healthy creek ecosystems. We also conduct routine stream maintenance on our properties to keep these watershed assets in good working order. However, we need help from all property owners along the creeks.
On channels not maintained by Valley Water, private property owners and public agencies are responsible for maintaining their section of the creek. This may include managing vegetation, repairing erosion, and addressing graffiti, trash, debris and downed trees.
Some activities may require permits from local, state, or federal regulatory agencies before the work is performed. For more information, you can read our fact sheet Permitting Information for Creek Maintenance.
Property owners must also maintain their land, so it doesn’t harm a neighboring property. For example, if a property owner builds a rock wall to stop erosion, the water may shift and cause erosion on a neighbor’s land. Another example is if a property owner places rocks to create a footbridge across the creek, it could change the flow of water and cause erosion on adjacent properties. In both cases, the property owner must get the required permits before starting the work and may be liable for damage to their neighbors’ properties.
Effective management of creekside lands is a shared responsibility among everyone involved: Valley Water, local governments, and property owners.
Read our fact sheet on Stream Maintenance and Property Management or visit our Stream Maintenance Program project page for more information.
I want to donate, and help plant, some oak and a few other, decorative trees, that I have in pots, on Water District Property. Who, within the Water District, can I reach out to, to make this happen ? All the tress I do have, are completely healthy, and need permanent homes. Providing some of these trees for your upcoming creek ‘ clean up ‘ days, would be so great. Let’s make this happen !!!
Hello! We really appreciate your interest in expanding our native forest.
Valley Water’s tree planting activities go through a rigorous process to ensure the health of our plants and the ecosystems they are planted in. In order to do that, we screen all of our new plants for phytophthora, a plant pathogen that has killed some of our previous plantings. To protect our plants and our riparian areas, Valley Water only plants those plants which we purchase from nurseries that are certified to provide phytophthora free plants.
We encourage you to contact your city or other non-profits who may love to receive free, native plants, and plant them in areas that are likely less sensitive than our riparian areas.
Thank you for your response. Is there any way to give the trees that I have to offer, a ‘ physical ‘ to ensure they are free of any illness ? Also, do you have calls for volunteer help, in any future tree planting events on your properties ? If so, I would be interested in helping. Thanks again. – Craig