In San Luis Obispo, crews have started an annual flood control project in a local creek.
A highly invasive bamboo-like plant is growing at the bottom of San Luis Creek, near the Los Osos Valley Road bridge. The Land Conservancy of SLO County is working with the city and a local property owner to chop it down.
It’s the final stretch of a larger project that began in 1999.
Jon Hall is with the conservancy. He said if left unmanaged, rain can fill the creek quickly, which can create a hazard for flooding and erosion in the area.
“It’s also highly flammable. There’s some other areas like Ventura where they have rivers that are completely covered in this plant and they’ve had fires and as soon as it hits that it just lights up like gasoline and it takes off,” Hall said.
Hall said the plant’s overgrowth can increase water temperatures in streams. That can make the habitat less suitable for the California red-legged frog and steelhead trout.
He said crews are expected to take the last step – applying an herbicide to prevent future growth – in September.
“There's a bunch of different reasons why we work in fall. One of them is you’re waiting until the end of nesting bird season and you’re waiting until the water flow is the lowest so you have the least impact on migrating salmon and on red-legged frogs,” Hall said.
The creek side area has also been a gathering place for unhoused residents. In a news release Friday, SLO’s Homelessness Response team said it’s connected with several homeless encampments along the work area to minimize displacement during the project.
Crews are expected to wrap up the plant’s removal by Friday.
