Woodside Avenue Project

Flood Control Grant Project - Woodside Avenue Water Quality Basin: Project Overview

Background: In 2003, the County of San Diego received a voter-supported Proposition 13 grant from the State Water Resources Control Board to construct a water quality detention basin. This basin is designed to remove pollutants from water on the south side of Woodside Avenue.

Before: Urban runoff and pollutants from the hills of Winter Gardens flowed under Woodside Avenue and State Route 67 to the San Diego River.

After: The dirt and debris have been removed and a barrier has been built to trap heavy pollutants. The bottom of the water quality basin is now sloped so that more water soaks in and is naturally filtered by the soil. Finally, native vegetation has been planted for stabilization.

Monitoring: The County installed monitoring equipment to take samples of water entering and leaving the basin. Preliminary results show that amounts of some pollutants such as total metals, phosphorus, and nitrate are lower leaving the basin. This indicates that the basin may be improving the quality of water entering Los Coches Creek and the San Diego River. Additional data collection and analysis are being conducted.

Contact Sara Agahi at 858.694.2665 for questions 
or more information on this grant project.

Aerial view of project site (Pre-project)

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