Benthic Biomonitoring of Suspended Sediment Input Into Strawberry Creek

Urbanization and development have historically gone hand-in-hand with environmental defradation. Strawberry Creek, running from the East Bay hills through the University of California, Berkeley campus and the City of Berkeley was representative of the fate of many urban streams. Most of the creek was funneled through concrete channels for flood and erosion prevention or underground culverts to functionas a storm sewer system. Fish had long since disappeared and most pollution-intolerant flora and fauna had retreated into the underdeveloped Berkeley Hills. High concentrations of biological and chemical pollutants including fecal matter and heavy metals, entered Strawberry Creek through misconnected or broken sanitary sewers. Channelization of parts of Strawberry Creek increased stream velocities, exacerbating streambank erosion in the unchannelized sections. These pollution and erosion problems spirred the campus Environmental Health and Safety Office in 1987 to initiate a study of water quality, resulting in the publication of the Strawberry Creek Management Plan, a comprehensive examination of stream quality and recommendations for its improvement. Then-Chancellor Heyman formed the Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Strawberry Creek Environmental Quality, whose goal was the restoration of Strawberry Creek to a level that can again support diverse populations of both terrestrial and aquatic life.