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SCIENTIFIC STUDIES SHOW FOOTHILL-SOUTH
WILL NOT IMPACT SURF BREAK AT TRESTLES
Two independent scientific studies show that Foothill-South will have "no
measurable impact on surfing resources."
October, 2006
Coastal resources engineers and hydrologists have determined that Foothill-South will
have no negative impact on water quality or the surf break at Trestles.
As part of their six-year $17 million scientific study of the environmental impacts of the
proposed Foothill-South Toll Road, the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency
(TCA) commissioned two studies of the potential water quality and surf break impacts at
Trestles. The studies were conducted by Skelly GeoSoils, Inc., and RBF, both
professional engineering firms that specialize in coastal resources and hydrology.
Trestles Surf Break Unaffected
The famous surf break at Trestles is primarily a result of the large cobbles and small
boulders that are located in the Trestles delta. These stones are relatively immobile
compared to the sand, which exhibits a much more transient nature due to the influence
of along-shore currents that can shift on the order of several hundred thousand cubic
yards of sand per year. It is the permanence of these cobbles and boulders that make the
surf break at Trestles so consistent. The scientific study showed that Foothill-South,
which will be no closer to the beach than the I-5 is today, will have no impact on these
cobbles and boulders in the surf zone and therefore no impact on the surf break.
The amount of sediment deposited into the surf break at Trestles from San Mateo Creek
varies from zero cubic yards per year to as much as 32,000 cubic yards per year.
Foothill-South may slightly impact this volume of sediment delivered to the shoreline,
but this is not considered a significant impact because the change in the pre- and post -
project sand quantities is very small (not measurable), and any sand that does reach the
shoreline is rapidly moved away and does not contribute to the quality of the surfing
resources.
Water Quality Protected
When it rains, the stormwater runoff from the I-5 Freeway currently runs straight into
San Mateo Creek, which leads directly to the ocean at Trestles. One of the water quality
mitigation measures TCA plans for Foothill-South is that it will not only install extended
detention basins to treat the stormwater runoff from Foothill-South, but TCA will also
install extended detention basins to capture and treat the stormwater runoff from
approximately two miles of the I-5 Freeway near Trestles that is currently untreated. As
a result, the water quality at the mouth of the San Mateo Creek near Trestles will improve
once Foothill-South is built.
Balancing Traffic Relief with Environmental Protection
TCA has worked closely with federal and state environmental resource agencies
including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Fish & Wildlife (USFW),
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton,
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and others throughout the
environmental planning process.
When built, Foothill-South will be one of the most environmentally sensitive roadways
ever constructed. TCA's environmental mitigation program has helped bring back
hundreds of acres of native habitat, which has allowed the endangered gnatcatcher to
flourish again. At the same time, Foothill-South will accelerate traffic relief throughout
the region. In 2020, the commute from the I-5 to Oso Parkway on the Toll Road will take
15 minutes, whereas if Foothill-South is not built, that same commute on the freeway will
take over an hour.
Quality of life means balancing traffic relief with environmental protection; Foothill-
South provides both.
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