WRCA: Water Resources Collections and Archives

San Francisco Bay Fund Inventory of Projects

Reducing Mercury Contamination in the Guadalupe River

Organization: National Heritage Institute
2001 Grant Recipient - Santa Clara County

Purpose

Fisheries and aquatic habitat restoration efforts on the Guadalupe River, in southern San Francisco Bay, face the challenge of implementing restoration activities such as changes in dam operation or removal of fish barriers without causing localized increases in mercury contamination, which is widespread throughout the river. This problem poses a barrier not only to restoration activities on the Guadalupe River, but also many other tributaries to the San Francisco Bay.

This project provided research key to the health of the San Francisco Bay and, in particular, guided the mercury remediation efforts of a multi-stakeholder collaborative fisheries and aquatic habitat restoration effort on the Guadalupe River. The objective of the project was to develop specific recommendations for cost-effective mercury remediation techniques to be integrated into the planning and design of existing fisheries restoration and flood control projects on the Guadalupe River.

NRPI Database Entry

http://www.ice.ucdavis.edu/nrpi/NRPIDescription.asp?ProjectPK=436
The original Directors of this project were Richard Roos-Collins and Kat Ridolfi, currently a Project Scientist at LimnoTech in Washington, D.C.

Contacts for this Project

Richard Roos-Collins
Outside General Counsel
Natural Heritage Institute
Phone: (510) 296-5589
E-mail: RRcollins@WaterPowerLaw.com

Shelley Gabriel
Manager, Administration and Development
National Heritage Institute
Phone: (415) 639-3000 Ext. 119.
E-mail: SGabriel@N-H-I.org

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Guadalupe River - San Jose, CA - January 14, 1995. High flow. Looking upstream at river Gage Station 23B just off old Almaden Road.
Riparian vegetation disappears just above the gage weir and is mostly absent all
of the way downstream to Curtner Ave. This stretch of the river is lined with rock
gabions and rip-rap but there is a thin line of trees along the top of the far bank.

Guadalupe River - San Jose, CA - January 14, 1995. High flow. Looking upstream at river Gage Station 23B just off old Almaden Road. Riparian vegetation disappears just above the gage weir and is mostly absent all of the way downstream to Curtner Ave. This stretch of the river is lined with rock gabions and rip-rap but there is a thin line of trees along the top of the far bank.

Map of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens in San José, California.

Guadalupe River - San Jose, CA - August 1995. Low flow. Looking down at the river Gage Station 23B weir just off old Almaden
Road. Flows from Guadalupe and Almaden Reservoirs were supposed to be 10
cfs each during this period for FAHCE test purpose. However, it is unclear what
affect other uncontrolled flows or usual flow diversion points upstream of this
area have on the flows in this section.

Guadalupe River - San Jose, CA - August 1995. Low flow. Looking down at the river Gage Station 23B weir just off old Almaden Road. Flows from Guadalupe and Almaden Reservoirs were supposed to be 10 cfs each during this period for FAHCE test purpose. However, it is unclear what affect other uncontrolled flows or usual flow diversion points upstream of this area have on the flows in this section.