Upper Rock Creek goes Dry!

July’s River Monitors came back from their monthly monitoring with some surprising news: Rock Creek upstream of Lake Vera has gone dry.  A few stagnant pools remain around the Rector Road bridge on Rock Creek, however most of the stream channel above the bridge is completely dry.  This is the second occurrence of Upper Rock Creek going dry since monitoring began at the site in 2005, with the other drying occurrence in 2008.

As this especially dry year continues and more creeks and rivers dry up, we are reminded that we are interconnected to the natural resources around us. We are dependent on the water that runs in our creeks just as much as the fish, plants and other wildlife that call this habitat home.

Conservation is Key

How can you help? Throughout the rest of this year (and every year in California), it is important for us all to do our part and conserve water. Every little bit helps: turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth, water your lawns, landscaping, and gardens more sparingly and at night, or simply reduce your shower time or do fewer loads of laundry. Remember, every little bit helps.

Many thanks to River Monitors Peggy Ruff and Diane Gross for collecting water quality measurements at Upper Rock Creek.  If you’d like to join the enthusiastic team of citizen scientists that visit adopted monitoring sites on a monthly basis, please contact River Monitoring Coordinator Marianne Pott.