Colorful new signs posted at creek crossings are intended to introduce residents to the more than three dozen waterways that run through Santa Rosa.
In the process, it's hoped they will foster relationships and an interest in keeping the water clean, officials said.
The message on each sign is clear enough: "Ours to Protect." But officials hope reminding people that they're driving over a named creek will reinforce a sense of interconnectedness.
"Once you can identify something, you a have a better sense of how it plays a role in your environment," said Julia Gonzalez, marketing and outreach coordinator for the city's public works and utilities departments. "It creates a sense of ownership."
Gonzalez, who has a graphic arts background, designed the signs. She included images of local flora and fauna that actually share the local environment, things like the valley oak, steelhead trout, white egret, yellow willow and river otter.
Small icons identify creeks with pedestrian or bicycle paths.
Some of the creek names are familiar enough: Santa Rosa, Paulin, Spring, Matanzas. Others are less so: Irwin, Countryside, Ducker, Forestview.
But each is part of a neighborhood, a commuter route or a crossroads, said Gonzalez. "Most of us, in our travels around the city, will cross over creeks and not even know it."
"We want people to be aware that they live near a creek," Associate City Engineer Heaven Hix said. "We want people to understand (that) what they do on their block affects the creek nearby."
The arrival of rainy season expands the need for vigilance. Rain means almost anything that has been spilled on driveways, sidewalks and roads is likely to be washed into the city's creeks, and potentially on into the ocean.
Even if they're labeled "biodegradable," substances like motor oil, pet feces, fertilizers, pesticides, sediments and soaps from windshield and car washing are obvious examples, said Environmental Specialist Alistair Bleifuss.
He heads the Creek Stewardship Program sponsored in partnership by the city of Santa Rosa and the Sonoma County Water Agency.
The same goes for litter left in the street and the varied, random trash some people deliberately discard into gutters and creekbeds, Bleifuss said.
Officials hope that increased awareness of the city's nearly 90 miles of creek will promote responsible behavior on the part of residents.
"We want people to put a name on their creek so they can start identifying with it," Bleifuss said. "You get an idea of where the creeks wind through the city and how everything's connected.
"Then as people say, &‘OK, this is my creek. It's Piner Creek,' you start to think, &‘Well, I don't want it to get dirty.'"
Gonzalez added, "It's important to remind people of the responsibility we all have."
Money for the signs comes from the updated Citywide Creek Master Plan approved in 2007, which called for citizen involvement and awareness of what they can do help keep them clean and safe, Bleifuss said.
About half the anticipated 200 signs have been made so far at a cost of $4,700. The money comes from the city's Storm Drain Development Fund, into which residents annually pay about $39 per household, Gonzalez said.
One practical advantage of signs identifying the lesser known creeks is that residents can more easily direct city crews, police and fire personnel to problem areas, officials said.
People who want to report illegal dumping or degradation of a local creek can call 543-3800 for a spill response team, Hix said.
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