Water Quality Index Score: 76, Fair
Our data in San Dieguito Watershed show:
- Ammonia, phosphorus, and turbidity measuring at marginal on our Water Quality Index Scores
Ammonia and phosphorus are nutrients. In the farm or garden, people add nutrients to encourage robust and healthy plant growth. In the water, however, nutrients are rarely beneficial. Too many nutrients can cause algae to grow out of control, which will blanket the stream and bank with unsightly algae. These mats of algae ultimately lead to oxygen depletion that kill the aquatic life.
This is a huge concern for this waterway because our volunteers spotted lots of wildlife including birds, fish, turtles, clams, crawfish and insects.
The unhealthy levels of turbidity point to excessive sedimentation in the San Dieguito River. The river empties to the San Dieguito lagoon, which is sensitive to this sort of pollution because the river brings sediment into the east side of the lagoon and the Del Mar Racetrack and associated parking lots impact sediment flows on west side.
