What is a watershed?

A watershed is an area of land over which water flows. Watersheds are delineated by topography; ridges and valleys. An example is the San Lorenzo Creek watershed, seen on the attached map (366 Kb)* . There are many small watersheds in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area is also considered a large watershed with all the water draining into the San Francisco Bay.

The Unincorporated Area of Alameda County has displayed signs depicting the boundaries of the San Lorenzo Creek Watershed, seen on the attached example (21 Kb)*.

Keeping Creeks Clean

creek photo (347 Kb)*
Volunteer to clean a creek (152 KB)*
Alameda County is installing new strom drian markers, see example here

Information for developers

Pollution prevention during construction (837 Kb)*
Permanent Stormwater Quality Controls (539 Mb)*

Alameda County inspects businesses on a regular basis to ensure water quality practices are followed. If you suspect a business is polluting creeks or the Bay, contact us.

Contact us:

Alameda County Public Works Agency
Development Services Department
Clean Water Division
951 Turner Court, Room 300
Hayward, CA 94545

phone: 510-670-5543
fax: 510-670-5262

Call to report a spill or other pollution that could harm creeks

510-670-5500

Futher links on Water Quality:

• ACCWP - Alameda County-wide Clean Water Program (www.cleanwaterprogram.com)
• BASMAA – Bay Area Association of Stormwater Management Agencies Association (http://www.basmaa.org)
• California Water Quality Control Board (http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/)
• EPA – Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov)
• RCD – Resource Conservation District (http://www.baysavers.org)
• NRCS – Natural Resource Conservation Service (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/partners/districts.html)
• Center for Watershed Protection (http://www.cwp.org)
• Alameda County Waste Management Authority (www.stopwaste.org)