This project provides grants and partnerships for cleanup, education, outreach and watershed stewardship activities. Funding also allows the District to continue supporting volunteer cleanup activities such as National River Cleanup Day, California Coastal Cleanup Day, the Great American Pick Up, and Adopt-A-Creek, as well as Creek Connections Action Group and creekwise education.
Grants and partnerships
Grants
The Board approved 9 new Support Volunteer Cleanup & Education Efforts grant projects in FY18. The following projects were approved by the Board on March 13, 2018 to receive funding:
- Guadalupe Watershed Education Campaign - Guadalupe River Park Conservancy ($28,409)
- Youth for a Cool Earth - Breathe California of the Bay Area ($35,000)
- Girl Scouts Go Green in Santa Clara County - Girl Scouts of Northern CA ($16,951)
- Stevens Creek Monitoring & Education Project - Grassroots Ecology ($34,459)
- Friends of Coyote Creek Watershed North Coyote Creek - South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition ($35,000)
- Los Gatos Creek Trail Interpretive Signage and Receptacle Expansion - City of Campbell ($33,731)
- South County Creeks Team - Gilroy Compassion Center ($15,000)
- Zero Trash Campaign - Save the Bay ($15,000)
- Los Gatos Creek TEAM 222 - South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition ($15,000)
Completed B7 Grant Projects:
- Clean Water Fund (CWF) completed ReThink Disposable: Preventing Riparian Trash at the Source Project. This project was completed in December 2016 and the agreement was closed in June 2017; but due to staff transition, this project completion was communicated to the Board in February 2018. Clean Water Fund received $82,133 to support the expansion of their ReThink Disposable program to three cities in Santa Clara County (San Jose, Cupertino, and Sunnyvale). The program sought to engage food businesses, institutions, and consumers to minimize disposable take-out food and beverage packaging at the source.
CWF engaged over 30,000 residents in Santa Clara County with the ReThink Disposable Source Reduction Pledge and through 12 business participants, minimized wasteful single use disposable food and beverage packaging by over 1.4 million pieces. CWF won the 2015 Governor’s Award for Environmental and Economic Leadership and the 2016 California Resource Recovery Association’s Excellence in Waste Prevention Award.
Partnerships
The District is currently in the process of securing a new B7 partnership to support education, outreach, and cleanup efforts in the under served communities along Coyote Creek and Guadalupe River watersheds.
Volunteer cleanup events
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National River Cleanup Day (May 19, 2018): 1,354 volunteers cleaned 65.2 miles of creeks and shoreline, removing approximately 45,268 pounds of trash and 2,084 pounds of recyclables.
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Coastal Cleanup Day (September 15, 2018): 1,931 volunteers picked up more than 56,808 pounds of trash including 8,542 pounds of recyclables along 75.25 miles of creeks in Santa Clara Valley.
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Great American Litter Pickup (April 21, 2018): The District supports this annual event by promoting the focus of picking up litter from city streets parks and public areas.
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Adopt-A-Creek (Year Round): This program continues to be highly popular with many neighborhood and civic groups. Participation in this program is currently 151 adopted sites with groups committing to host a minimum of 2 cleanup events per year.
Updated January 2019
For more information:
Grant opportunity
Grants and partnerships
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Sherilyn Tran, (408) 630-2772
Volunteer cleanup events
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Ricardo Barajas, (408) 630-2239
Grant Projects
The following projects received grant funding from Project B7.
| Grantee | Project Name | Status | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acterra Stewardship | Acterra Lower Peninsula Healthy Creeks Project | Complete | Final Report |
| Clean Water Fund | ReThink Disposable: Preventing Riparian Trash at the Source | Complete | |
| Save the Bay | Clean Bay Project | Complete | Final Report |
| Girl Scouts of Northern California | Girl Scouts Go Green in SC County | Complete | |
| City of Sunnyvale | Schools Goin' Green | Complete | |
| Environmental Volunteers | Education for Clean Water | Complete | |
| San Jose Parks Foundation | Trash Free Coyote Creek education and Outreach Project |
Complete |
|
|
Guadalupe River Park Conservancy |
Guadalupe Watershed Education Campaign |
New |
|
|
Breathe California of the Bay Area |
Youth for a Cool Earth (Y4CE) |
New |
|
|
Gilroy Compassion Center |
South County Creeks Team |
New |
|
|
City of Campbell |
Los Gatos Creek Trail Interpretive Signage and Receptacle Expansion |
New |
|
|
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition |
Friends of Coyote Creek Watershed North Coyote Creek Stewardship Project |
New |
|
|
Girl Scouts of Northern California |
Girls Scouts Go Green in Santa Clara County |
New |
|
|
Grassroots Ecology |
Stevens Creek Monitoring & Education Project |
New |
|
|
Save the Bay |
Zero Trash Campaign |
New |
|
|
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition |
Los Gatos Creek TEAM 222 |
New |
Updated May 2018
Key Performance Indicator for the Safe, Clean Water Program
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Provide 7 grant cycles and 3 partnerships that follow pre-established competitive criteria related to cleanups, education and outreach, and stewardship activities.
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Fund District support of annual National River Cleanup Day, California Coastal Cleanup Day, the Great American Pick Up, and fund the Adopt-A-Creek Program.
Benefits
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Reduces contaminants entering our waterways and groundwater
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Engages community and supports watershed stewardship
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Leverages volunteer community resources for efficient use of funds
Geographic Area of Benefit
Countywide
About the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program
In November 2012 the voters of Santa Clara County overwhelmingly approved Measure B, the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, as a countywide special parcel tax for 15 years with a sunset date of June 30, 2028. This Program replaced the Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan, which voters approved in November 2000.
The Safe, Clean Water Program was developed with input from more than 16,000 residents and stakeholders and was created to match the community’s needs and values. The voters of Santa Clara County identified five priorities:
Priority A: Ensure a Safe, Reliable Water Supply
Priority B: Reduce Toxins, Hazards and Contaminants in our Waterways
Priority C: Protect our Water Supply from Earthquakes and Natural Disasters
Priority D: Restore Wildlife Habitat and Provide Open Space
Priority E: Provide Flood Protection to Homes, Businesses, Schools and Highways
Other: Six projects from the Clean, Safe, Creeks Plan have been carried forward into the Safe, Clean Water Program.
Each year, the District prepares a report providing a progress update for each of these Program priorities, along with fiscal year accomplishments.
To ensure transparency and accountability to the voters, the ballot measure also created an Independent Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors. The Independent Monitoring Committee annually reviews the Program’s progress to ensure the outcomes are achieved in a cost-efficient manner and reports its findings to the Board.
In addition, the Program requires three independent audits, the first of which was conducted in FY 2017.