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U.S. EPA helps complete joint $98,000 Santa Ana and San Jacinto river watershed project. Results will help determine condition, future of the Santa Ana River

Release Date: 02/14/2007
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815, Cell: (213) 798-1404, [email protected]

(02/14/07) LOS ANGELES - Thanks to its contribution of $50,000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently helped complete a joint, $98,000 Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board study of the Santa Ana and San Jacinto watersheds.

This project - in collaboration with staff and graduate students at the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and California State University, Long Beach - observed the condition of the region's riverine wetland resources, using California Rapid Assessment Method site assessments and US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetland Inventory maps.

The Santa Ana and San Jacinto river watershed wetland study proved the need to establish a more comprehensive mapping effort, one that lists a detailed wetlands inventory throughout the Santa Ana region. The study also proved that the California Rapid Assessment Method can help determine the ecological stability of the area's riverine wetlands. The study will be a cornerstone of future regulatory actions to protect riverine wetlands and establish wetland restoration goals and mitigation guidelines.

"As Southern California continues to develop at an accelerated pace, protecting natural water resources such as the wetlands in the Santa Ana and San Jacinto river watershed is paramount," said Cheryl A. McGovern, environmental specialist, EPA. "This study will help the EPA and our sister agencies determine the state of these wetlands, and how to preserve them so that they continue to offer clean water throughout the region."

Measuring approximately 2,800 square miles, the Santa Ana River watershed is located mostly in Orange County, and in parts of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties.

For more information, please visit: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/santaana/html/nonpoint_source.html
and click on "Final Report - Assessment of Status of Riverine Wetlands in the Santa Ana and San Jacinto River Watersheds."
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