Water Resource Collections and Archives

About 100 miles long and draining a watershed of over 2600 square miles, the Santa Ana River is the longest river in Southern California, with most of the watershed being in Inlandia.

Though the watershed is home to over 5 million people, the SAR is the river that, given its intensive usage and restricted access, most of us have faced away from according to Celeste Cantu, Director of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority. There is now an increasing effort on the part of many, including those in Friends, to face the river, learn about it and to value it as the unique resource it is – a precious stream in an arid land that can support a multitude of uses by our community. Through better education, Friends is interested in restoring, improving and reintegrating the SAR into our communities as well as personal lives and daily experience. There is really nothing else like it in the region and our hope is to contribute to educating our campus and community in ways that help re-center the SAR in our community.

Images of the River

Inspirations -- River Restoration Elsewhere

Though the challenges are significant, major river restoration and conservation efforts are happening all over the world, and with rivers in very bad condition. The following examples of rivers being restored are included as inspirations..

• Alameda Creek and Calaveras Reservoir Dam in the San Francisco Bay Area
  
  
• Carmel River near Monterey
  
  
• Cayahoga River in Ohio: The Famous Burning River now supports steelhead salmon runs.
  
  
• Rhine River in Europe: Known formerly as the "sewer of Europe", several countries are successfully cooperating in an international effort to improve water quality and restore fisheries.