Novato garbage pile grows under bridge along creek

Officials say plans are in place to remove piles of rubbish under the bridge leading from South Novato Boulevard to the Novato Fair Shopping Center.

A large buildup of trash clogging a section of Novato Creek for the second time in a few months has prompted concern for residents, especially as the county prepares for the rainy season.

City officials say plans are in place to remove the collection of trash bags, cardboard boxes and other rubbish from underneath the bridge leading from South Novato Boulevard to the Novato Fair Shopping Center.

But nearby residents such as Jim Brind’Amour of Nave Court said they have grown frustrated with the illegal dumping and camping by homeless people in the creekbed bordering their homes.

Brind’Amour said that in addition to the garbage, his neighbors have been harassed by homeless people. There also was a break-in recently, he said.

“The city came through and cleared all of them out and put up big signs saying you can’t camp here. Now they came back with a vengeance,” he said. “It seems as if they’ve intentionally tried to dam the creek with garbage. This is going to be the second time the taxpayers are going to have to pay to clean it up.”

Chris Blunk, the Novato public works director, said police, public works staffers, the Marin County Flood Control District and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services met to prepare a plan to clean up the refuse.

“We are required to post notices for people to vacate the area prior to the removal of the garbage,” Blunk said Friday. “The cleanup project is expected to occur mid-next week. A similar cleanup project took place at this location and further down the creek channel about two months ago, but garbage has been accumulating under the bridge at an increased rate since then. The agencies involved are exploring strategies to prevent this from occurring again.”

Sullina Sanchez, an analyst for the city, said it cannot firmly state who is responsible for the trash buildup in the creeks.

“However, the city along with community stakeholders is committed to finding a solution that ensures the littering of waterways ends,” she said.

Sanchez said the city does not have a cost estimate for the cleanup, but said the aid of other jurisdictions will help reduce costs to the city.

The creek could flood if the garbage is not cleared before a storm, said Marin County Public Works Department spokesman Julian Kaelon.

Clearing garbage from creeks is one of several jobs that local government crews handle as part of their annual storm preparations, Kaelon said. Other responsibilities of the county flood district include clearing out vegetation and trash from 37 miles of creeks; unclogging storm drains; maintaining 14 miles of levees and berms; and maintaining 43 pump stations.

“Preparing for storm season is a major undertaking and requires a year-round commitment,” said Liz Lewis, a county public works official. “By the time there’s any significant rain on the horizon, we’ve generally been finished with the prep work for weeks.”

Depending on which creeks the illegal dumping occurs in, either the county or the local waste hauler franchise in the jurisdiction is responsible to clear the debris, Kaelon said.

Recurring problem areas are low-lying creeks and communities near San Francisco Bay, which experience flooding during storms and high tides that will only worsen with rising seas, Kaelon said. These areas include Marin City, Ross Valley, Santa Venetia, Tamalpais Valley and South Novato Boulevard.

While the county received historic rainfall a year ago, forecasts show no rain in the near term.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest winter weather outlook shows a high chance of a third consecutive La Niña winter. La Niña weather patterns, which occur when winds bring up cold water in the Pacific Ocean near North America, often mean equal chances of either normal or below-normal rainfall in the Bay Area region.

“Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of the country, but parts of the Western U.S and southern Great Plains will continue to be the hardest hit this winter,” Jon Gottschalck, a federal climate official, said in a statement this week.