Friends of Five Creeks
Preserving and restoring watersheds of
North Berkeley, Albany, Kensington, south El Cerrito and Richmond
1236 Oxford St., Berkeley, CA 94709
510 848 9358
April 21, 2008
Mayor William Jones III, Mayor Pro Tem Sandi Potter
Members of the City Council
City Manager Scott Hanin
Public Works Director Jerry Bradshaw; Maintenance Manager Bruce King
City of El Cerrito
10940 San Pablo Ave.
El Cerrito, CA 94530
Dear Mayor, Mayor Pro-Tem, Council Members, and City Manager:
As many of you know, in March 2008, city contractors sprayed herbicide in Creekside Park on the bank of Cerrito Creek in the narrow band between the flood-control channel and creek and on the sandpile in the flood-control ponds, where young children often play.
This was the third year running in which this spraying took place AFTER these contractors were instructed differently. That is, the city has unsuccessfully attempted to stop this longstanding practice of spraying since 2005. Friends of Five Creeks, believing that the city’s instructions would be followed, has twice had elementary-school children plant native wildflower seeds in the band between the flood-control channel and creek, only to have their efforts destroyed.
Following our March 30 report of the spraying, city staff took steps: repeated instructions to the contractor, stronger signs, and a requirement that the city be notified in advance of any use of herbicide and receive regular reports on herbicide use.
While we appreciate these efforts, we can’t feel confident. The contractor has received exactly the same instructions before. Signs have been posted, only to be ignored and then vandalized. Many city policies are honored in the breach, presumably for lack of staff time. For example, the policy that the flood-control ponds in Creekside Park should be cleaned each year, but the sandpile where children play (and which contractors spray each year) has been there for at least five years. We wonder where else herbicides are being used in places that parents, or for that matter pet owners, might care about.
Friends of Five Creeks very much hopes that the City Manager and Council will make review of El Cerrito’s policies and practices on herbicides a top priority of the new Environmental Committee, as part of an examination of the city’s Integrated Pest Management policies. One aim might be advance posting in areas to be sprayed, an increasingly common requirement.
We are not opposed to herbicides. They are an essential tool in restoration. We acknowledge that the spraying in this case, reportedly of Round-Up, was not illegal. However, most parents would not care to have their children play in sand freshly sprayed with weed killer. The US EPA is in process of strengthening the warning on Round-Up, instructing that in addition to not using it directly in water, it should not be used where runoff is likely to reach water bodies. This spraying took place in March – often a rainy month when runoff would go straight to the creek. (The active ingredient in Round-Up, glyphosate, does not harm animals, but the surfactant used is lethal to aquatic organisms. Rodeo, a formula safe in water, is available to licensed applicators. It is significant that this contractor did not bother to use Rodeo.)
We also realize that public examination and perhaps adoption of policies on Integrated Pest Management is likely to raise city maintenance costs. There is a risk that irrational fears may lead to unnecessarily restrictive policies. Nevertheless, we believe that the multi-year record justifies this scrutiny.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Susan Schwartz, President
Friends of Five Creeks
Toy car beside sprayed sand in flood-control ponds, Creekside Park. F5C began removing sant after the 2008 spraying. As the photo shows, it is now about half gone.
Sprayed area between ponds and creek is on left side of ponds farther west, at upper right in the photo.
One possibility for El Cerrito: Notice of spraying. (This example is from New York City. Note warnings re pets and children for use of Round-Up.)