The Regional Water Quality Control Board and Greig Peters

The mission of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) is to “preserve, enhance and restore the quality of California’s water resources, and ensure their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of present and future generations.”

The Regional Board oversees implementation of laws, including the federal Clean Water Act, that require protection of our wetlands, creeks, lagoons, bays, and ocean.

Recognizing the importance of the Rose Creek Watershed to the San Diego region, the Regional Board currently supports protection and restoration of the watershed through both its regulatory programs and its financial assistance programs.

The Regional Board’s support of efforts to protect and restore the Rose Creek Watershed is due in large part to the vision and initiative of Greig Peters. Greig, an environmental scientist with the Regional Board until his death in 2001, was one of the first to recognize the potential for protection and restoration of wetlands and creeks in the Rose Creek Watershed. Greig understood that the health of the watershed, the wetlands and creeks in the watershed, and Mission Bay, at the mouth of Rose Creek, are inextricably linked. Greig’s approach to his work was visionary; he realized sooner and better than most how Regional Board programs could be used to pro-actively protect our wetlands, creeks, lagoons, bays, and ocean.

The Regional Board issued and oversees compliance with the San Diego County municipal storm water permit. This permit prohibits the discharge of pollutants to Rose Creek and San Clemente Creek and requires implementation of a plan to manage urban runoff. Urban runoff is water that flows directly - without treatment - from our homes, businesses, parking lots, streets, and highways into the storm drain system and then into our wetlands, creeks, lagoons, bays, and the ocean.

The Regional Board also oversees “mitigation” efforts in the Rose Creek Watershed. Under the federal Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Program, proposed development projects must not adversely impact the quality or beneficial uses of wetlands, creeks, lagoons, bays, or the ocean. Mitigation is often required when a proposed development “impacts” natural resources. When mitigation is required for impacts to water bodies, the Regional Board has regulatory oversight over mitigation implementation, including location and timing.

The Regional Board has also supported grant funding for efforts to protect and restore Rose Creek Watershed. The Regional Board oversees grants awarded by the State Water Resources Control Board for public outreach, K-12 education, trash pick-ups, removal of invasive species, and habitat restoration in the watershed.