Updates!

the saratoga creek situation 

A sixty-day notice was filed to US EPA and US Army on Dec. 11 2025 regarding the unlawful filling and burial of Saratoga Creek and adjacent wetlands, baylands, and Prime Farm Land in 1950-1985. Read more here.

Read the Sixty Day Notice here: PDF or Text.  (Appendix: PDF).

Checkout the Saratoga Creek System/Baylands history. 

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The Saratoga creek system

Additional names: Saratoga Creek, Arroyo Quito, Campbell Creek, Campbell's Creek, Campbell Creek System, Big Moody Creek, Congress Springs, San Jon Creek, Sanjon Creek, Zanjon Creek

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The Bayside Baylands & Wet Marsh

Additional names: Bayside, North-Central, Agnews, Jefferson, 

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Resources

THIS PAGE:

• Natural Ecology
• Natural Springs & Artesian Water
• Watershed & Natural Stream Flow
• Boring Logs, Geology, & Serpentine

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​ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Historical Documents about Bayside & Saratoga Creek System

(photos, records, maps, news articles, etc.)

SIXTY DAY NOTICE

• ​Read the: Clean Water Act | Citizen Suit: Sixty Day Notice

​PDF of the Sixty Day Notice:

cwa_sixty_day_notice.pdf
File Size:	5758 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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PDF of the Appendix with Exhibits 

gjovik_cwa_citizensuit_appendix_exhibits_20251211.pdf
File Size:	46254 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Natural Ecology

SFEI, Historical Vegetation and Drainage Patterns of Western Santa Clara Valley, (Historical Conditions Circa 1850).

hsbay150p4_opt.pdf
File Size:	1916 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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SFEI, Urban Ecological Planning Guide for Santa Clara Valley.

Reports & Technical Articles: 
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Beller, EE; Salomon, M; Grossinger, RM. 2010. Historical Vegetation and Drainage Patterns of Western Santa Clara Valley: A technical memorandum describing landscape ecology in Lower Peninsula, West Valley, and Guadalupe Watershed Management Areas. SFEI Contribution No. 622. SFEI: Oakland. 

historicalecology_of_western_santaclaravalley_sfei_111910.pdf
File Size:	45893 kb
File Type:	pdf

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County of Santa Clara, Historic Context Statement, Department of Planning and Development Planning Office, (December 2004, Revised February 2012).

hhp_201202_historic_context.pdf
File Size:	2885 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Grossinger, RM; Striplen, CJ; Askevold, RA; Brewster, E; Beller, EE. 2007. Historical landscape ecology of an urbanized California valley: wetlands and woodlands in the Santa Clara Valley. Landscape Ecology 103-120.

hep_landscape_ecology_2007.pdf
File Size:	624 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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​Lowe, S; Salomon, M; Pearce, SA; Collins, JN; Titus, D. 2019. West Valley Watershed Assessment 2018: Baseline Ecological Condition Assessment of Southwest San Francisco Bay Creeks in Santa Clara County; Calabazas, San Tomas Aquino, Saratoga, Sunnyvale East and West. SFEI Contribution No. 944. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond.

​Lowe, S; Salomon, M; Pearce, SA; Collins, JN; Titus, D. 2018. West Valley Watershed Assessment 2018: Study Area Extent, Stream Survey Design, Sample Frame, and Sample Draw. SFEI Contribution No. 863. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.

westvalley_watershedconditionmemo_20190520_final.pdf
File Size:	5264 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

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Lowe, S; Pearce, SA; Salomon, M; Collins, JN; Titus, D. 2020. Santa Clara County Five Watersheds Assessment: A Synthesis of Ecological Data Collection and Analysis Conducted by Valley Water. SFEI Contribution No. 963. San Francisco Estuary Institute: Richmond, CA.

Mallen, Claire, "Assessing Methods for Determining Reference Conditions for Riparian Restoration in Santa Clara County" (2020). Master's Theses. 1448. https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1448

Berkley, SF Bay Delta (2004).

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Natural Springs & Artesian Water

Artesian Water in Bayside

Springs around Jamison farm / San Tomas Industrial Park & Santa Clara Square Apartments

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Watershed & Natural Stream Flow

SFEI, Historical Vegetation and Drainage Patterns of Western Santa Clara Valley, (Historic 1800 v Modern 2007 Drainage)

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Baylands & TideLands

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Boring logs 

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Geology & Serpentine

Barnes I, Lamarche VC Jr, Himmelberg G. Geochemical evidence of present-day serpentinization. Science. 1967; 156 (3776): 830-832. doi:10.1126/science.156.3776.830

Ultrabasic (pH > 11) water issues from some fresh ultramafic bodies. The properties of the ultrabasic solutions are believed to be due to current reactions yielding serpentine from primary olivines and pyroxenes. The low concentrations of divalent airon. divalent magnesium, and dissolved silica from the serpentinization require an increase in rock volume.
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RH Whitaker, Ecology of Serpentine Soils, Ecology, Volume 35, Issue 2 (April 1954), 258-288.

Melosh, B. L. (2019). Fault initiation in serpentinite. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 20, 2626–2646. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GC008092

CGS NOTE 57: SERPENTINITE AND SERPENTINE IN CALIFORNIA, California Dept. of Conservation

Klein, F., Goldsby, D. L., Lin, J., & Andreani, M. (2022). Carbonation of serpentinite in creeping faults of California. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2022GL099185. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099185

Brady, Kruckeberg, Bradshaw Jr, EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF PLANT ADAPTATION TO SERPENTINE SOILS, Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2005. 36:243–66 (2005)

Oze, Christopher & Skinner, Catherine & Schroth, Andrew & Coleman, Robert. (2008). Growing up green on serpentine soils: Biogeochemistry of serpentine vegetation in the Central Coast Range of California. Applied Geochemistry - APPL GEOCHEM. 23. 3391-3403. 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.07.014.

DONALD E WHITE; THERMAL WATERS OF VOLCANIC ORIGIN. GSA Bulletin 1957; 68 (12): 1637–1658. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1957)68[1637:TWOVO]2.0.CO;2
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Human Modifications

Hagerty, S; Spotswood, E; McKnight, K; Grossinger, RM. 2019. Urban Ecological Planning Guide for Santa Clara Valley. SFEI Contribution No. 941. (See also, Resilient Silicon Valley).

Odell, J, Excavating Calabazas Creek: An Inefficient Route Through Silicon Valley​​ (2019).

SFEI, Urban Ecological Planning Guide for Santa Clara Valley.

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Additional Resources 

GIS Data & Mapping:

Sowers, JM; Salomon, M .N.; Ticci, M; Beller, EE; Grossinger, RM. 2012. Watching Our Watersheds: Santa Clara Valley Past, Google Earth KMZ files: Santa Clara Valley historical points of interest, stream courses and habitats.

EcoAtlas, Historical Aquatic Resources and Terrestrial Plant Communities, California Bay Area 

SFEI: Santa Clara Valley historical ecology GIS
​SFEI: Western Santa Clara Valley Historical Ecology Study

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