Celebrating Water Quality in OC – City by City!

Join us in celebrating OC’s success in preventing stormwater pollution – city by city! This month, we highlight the Dairy Fork Wetland and Habitat Restoration project in the City of Aliso Viejo.

The phrase ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ perfectly describes the Regional Dairy Fork Wetlands and Habitat Restoration project. Led by the City of Aliso Viejo, two acres of undeveloped land was transformed into a functioning wetland that captures and filters runoff from over 1,500 acres of developed land (roughly 1,000 football fields!). The wetland captures and filters 325 acre-feet of urban runoff per year from the cities of Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, and Laguna Woods before it reaches nearby Aliso Creek. This biotreatment process results in removing 99% of pollutants from urban runoff. That’s the same amount of water as 160 Olympic sized swimming pools!

Think that’s cool?! The Dairy Fork project also removed 5 acres of invasive species and restored native habitat which reduces stress on the riparian ecosystem and expands the water quality benefits provided by the constructed wetland. Native habitats do this by absorbing more pollutants (through a process called biofiltration) than those dominated by invasive species like Arundo donax.

A project of this magnitude required collaboration not just from the four cities who funded the project, but also those involved with planning and implementation (County of Orange and Laguna Canyon Foundation). To top it all off, high school students helped clear invasive species to make room for 10,000 plants provided by a local nursery!  There’s no doubt that this team effort was instrumental in contributing to a local solution to runoff pollution.

And we’re not the only ones taking notice. Check out these awards the Dairy Fork project has received from top professional associations:

• California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) – 2018 Outstanding Stormwater BMP Implementation Project
• American Public Works Association (APWA) – 2017 Project of the Year
• American Association of Civil Engineers (ASCE) – 2018 Outstanding Environmental Engineering Project

We in H₂OC would like to thank ‘the team’ for realizing the common dream of improved water quality for our community and future generations to come.  For more information on this project, the partnering agencies or their roles in contributing to the project’s success, check out this video or contact Moy Yahya, Project Manager, at myahya@AVCity.org.

Celebrating Water Quality in OC – Resident by Resident: What Can You Do?

The Dairy Fork Wetland and Habitat Restoration project uses elements of nature to improve our water quality and prevent water pollution. You, too, can make a difference in improving the overall quality of our waterways by tapping into nature and creating your own mini wetland or rain garden. Just a few simple LID (Low Impact Development) actions on your part can yield big results! Visit our LID page here to learn more.