User:SDPLPauline/Draft: Chollas Creek

Chollas Creek is an urban creek in the city of San Diego that drains to the San Diego Bay. It is has also been referred to as Las Chollas Creek. It is also the name of a populated area of City Heights, San Diego, California

Chollas Creek arises in Lemon Grove and La Mesa, where its four branches begin. It empties into the Bay at Barrio Logan.

The creek is 30 mi long. Portions of the creek have been armored or channelized. It has been described as "one of San Diego's most neglected watersheds." For decades the creek has been plagued by pollution, illegal dumping and the destruction of natural habitats. It is an "impaired" water body due to high levels of pollutants.

Geography
The Chollas Creek watershed extends from the cities of La Mesa and Lemon Grove into areas of San Diego largely south of California State Route 94. It also runs through City Heights, Encanto, Barrio Logan, and eastern and southeastern San Diego. The highest elevation of the creek is within La Mesa at about 800 ft. The creek currently empties into San Diego Bay within Naval Station San Diego.

Hydrology
Chollas Creek is 16270 acre split into two main forks. The cumulative length of those two forks is 30 mi linearly. The south fork watershed covers an area of 6997 acre, and the north fork watershed covers an area of 9276 acre. During the months of May to September, the creek may be dry to having very little flow due to the dry season of Southern California. The mile of the creek closest to San Diego Bay is tidally influenced.

Flora and fauna
In the late 19th century, thickets of cactus as tall as nearly six feet high were noted in the valley created by the creek. Other species of plants observed growing abundantly included Arctostaphylos, Ceanothus, Eriodictyon californicum, Vitis girdiana, and Diplacus aurantiacus.

By the late 20th Century, species of plant that can be found along the creek are Eriogonum fasciculatum, Salvia apiana, Quercus dumosa, Malosma, and Diplacus aurantiacus. In 2015, a study of the south fork of the creek, before it merged with the north fork, found that two plant species with California Rare Plant Ranks were found; they were Juncus acutus leopoldii, and Iva hayesiana.

At the mouth of Chollas Creek in 2015, a study of that portion of the creek found 4 species of bivalves, and 1 species of gastropod. The most numerous species of bivalve was a species of chione.

Birds commonly found along Chollas Creek include the California gnatcatcher, red-tailed hawk, Bell's vireo, and cactus wren. Of these species the Coastal California gnatcatcher is a threatened species.

Wildlife that live around the creek can include coyotes, skunks, possums, and red-shouldered hawk. Other wildlife which might be found around the creek include desert cottontail, gray foxes, and big brown bats.

History
Chollas Creek's existence is estimated to date back to at least 1500 BC, with wetland environment dominating the mouth of the creek by 0 AD at the latest. By 1,000 AD at the latest, a sandy beach was formed at the northwest mouth of the creek.

Native American history
Chollas Creek was utilized by the Kumeyaay prior to the arrival of the Spanish.

Chollas Native American community
In Kumiai the village on Chollas Creek was named Matt Xtaat. The village appears on a 1782 map created by La Princesa navigator Don Juan Pantoja y Arriola labeled on the map as "Ranchería de las Choyas." By 1841, Eugène Duflot de Mofras noted that the village was no longer in existence. According to archeological surveys conducted in 2004 & 2006, the village was located between present day Oceanview Boulevard in the north and National Avenue in the south, and between 31st street in the west and 35th street in the east. According to archeological research conducted in 2011, the area where the village was located was occupied in two distinct periods; one beginning over two thousand years before 2011, and another beginning as early as 1,771 years before 2011. The land which the village use to occupy is now largely occupied by single-family homes and apartment buildings.

Spanish era
During the Portola Expedition, a survey conducted by crew members of the San Antonio, found that Chollas Creek was a viable water source. Despite this finding, it was not utilized due to the presence of the Kumeyaay community there. In 1769, Juniper Serra noted that the village at Chollas Creek was lined with chollas cactus. Although other Kumeyaay communities were involved in the November 1775 attack on Mission San Diego, Choyas was not involved. In the late 18th century, 71 people from Choyas were baptized.

19th Century
Stagecoach travelled within the Chollas Creek watershed down what is now Federal Boulevard. In 1851, Army officer Nathaniel Lyon travelled east along the creek and established a route to what is now Campo, California. In the 1883-84 rainy season, Southern California experienced record-setting rainfall. , it was the wettest rain season in San Diego County. During that season, the rainfall caused the creek to expand to 120 feet wide at one point.. In 1886, the National City and Otay Railroad built a crossing over the creek near the present day alignment of Main Street for a railroad track used to supply the construction of Sweetwater Dam. In 1887, railroad track owned by the California Southern Railroad crossed over creek. In 1888, railroad track owned by the Coronado Railroad crossed the creek near the present day alignment of National Avenue.

20th Century
In 1901, Chollas Reservoir was created on a tributary of the creek; it was created due to the construction of the Chollas Dam, also known as the Chollas Heights Dam, which is a 56 ft tall earth-fill type dam with a steel core. When the reservoir was built, it was east of the city limits of San Diego, and was the terminus point of a water pipe from the Lower Otay Reservoir. Built by the Southern California Mountain Water Company, it and the rest of the company was purchased by the City of San Diego in 1913. Water from Chollas Reservoir was piped down to the University Heights Reservoir. For a period of time in 1917, due to damage to the rest of the water distribution system which supplied the San Diego caused by a storm, the Chollas Reservoir became the sole source of water for the San Diego. In 1927 cracks developed in the dam, requiring repairs. Following the collapse of the St. Francis Dam, it led to reassessment of other dams which led to modifications and improvements to these dams, including the capacity enlargement of the Chollas Reservoir. It had a water treatment plant, but it was decommissioned in 1950; this was due to the completion of the much larger water treatment plant built at Lake Murray. In 1966 the reservoir was decommissioned and transferred to the City of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department and became Chollas Lake Park. In 1971 it was designated as a fishing lake for youth 15 and younger. The Chollas Lake is roughly 16 acres.

The Chollas Heights Navy Radio Station was built just north of Chollas Reservoir in 1916. Operated remotely from Point Loma, at the time of its creation it used the largest vacuum tube constructed, and required 50 gallons of water per minute to keep it cooled. The site was chosen so that the lake's water might cool the heated transmitter tubes. Three towers, each 660 feet high, were constructed between February 1915 and January 26, 1916. It was the world's first global Navy Radio Transmitting Facility, broadcasting at 200,000 watts, and was the most powerful radio transmitter in North America at the time. It was built as one of a series of high-powered radio stations, including locations in Pearl Harbor, Cavite, and Annapolis. Efforts were made to list the facility as a historic landmark. Some structures of the facility have been reused for other purposes though the most historic parts of the facility weren't saved. The station was closed in 1992 and demolished in 1994.

From the turn of the century, until at least 1930, an estuary existed at the mouth of the creek that measured at least 2,000 feet across, and expanded until the point where the north and south branches of the creeks met. In 1919, Naval Base San Diego was established. Soon after, land at the mouth of Chollas Creek was infilled, removing the existing wetlands. The creek was placed within a channel in order to prevent flooding of reclaimed lands that are part of the Navy base. From 1946 until 1981, a burn site and landfill was operated by the City of San Diego within the watershed of Chollas Creek near Chollas reservoir. On New Year's Eve 1951, the creek went over its normal creekbanks impacting a dozen families. In the early 1960s additional channeling of the creek occurred, with the goal of flood prevention. In 1969, flooding occurred in Chollas Creek leading to the collapse of a channeled portion of the creek near Oceanview Boulevard, along with damage to the Jackie Robinson YMCA. In 1978, a portion of the creek from its mouth to 0.35 mi was designated as navigable waters. In 1999, Chollas Creek was added to the list of impaired waterbodies by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Diego Region, after it was found that in storm water samples organophosphate pesticides and heavy metals were found in the samples.

21st Century
In 2002, the city of San Diego adopted a 20-year, $42 million plan to rehabilitate the creek. By 2013, while most of the creek had been put within concrete channels or underground culverts, a small portion of creek bed had been restored to a more natural soft channel on the south branch of the creek. In 2014, neighbors organized to reclaim a vacant lot in the watershed area for community use. A neighborhood group working with the San Diego Civic Innovation Lab and Groundwork San Diego cleared the lot. Improvements included walking paths, native plant landscaping, mosaic art benches and shade structures. In 2015, microplastics were found in 1 in 4 fish caught and in the sediment at the mouth Chollas Creek. In January 2016, Friends of Chollas Creek organized a clean up of the creek in the Oak Park neighborhood. In June 2021, the City of San Diego declared that Chollas Creek would be made into a regional park. Because of the size and sprawl of the creek, it was decided that Chollas Creek Regional Park would be a loose collection of small parks, open canyons, trails and other recreational amenities. This was finalized in the August 2021 Parks Master Plan. Prior to this, Chollas Creek was the only major waterway in San Diego not to be designated a regional park. In late 2022, the California Coastal Commission approved repairs to the Las Chollas Creek Bridge, which dates back to 1907, and is utilized by the San Diego Trolley to cross the creek.

In January 2022, a California sea lion traveled up Chollas Creek before getting onto California State Route 94, where bystander motorists, then California Highway Patrol officers, diverted traffic away from the sea lion until it was taken by SeaWorld San Diego personnel for assessment. The first time this particular sea lion required the assistance of SeaWorld personnel was in November 2021, when it had made its way away from the water onto Harbor Island Drive near San Diego International Airport. In February 2022, after the attachment of a flipper identification tag and rehabilitation the sea lion was released into the ocean. In April 2022, the sea lion, who was given the unofficial name of Freeway, was found traveling up Chollas Creek in the Logan Heights neighborhood towards where he was found in January of that same year. After this third interaction with SeaWorld personnel, the sea lion was retained at SeaWorld. In April 2023, the sea lion was euthanized in SeaWorld following deteriorating health due to a progressive disease.

In May 2023, Groundwork San Diego presented a plan to the San Diego City Council to create a series of trails along Chollas Creek. The Chollas Creek Regional Park is expected to be completed by 2024.

Fishing
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife track the stocking of fish to Chollas Park Lake, located on a tributary of Chollas Creek.

The available fish are as follows:


 * Salmon (Anadromous and Inland)
 * Bass (Striped Bass)
 * Catfish
 * Hatchery Trout
 * Panfish
 * Shad
 * Steelhead
 * Sturgeon
 * Trout (Wild, Wild Heritage, and Hatchery)