CITY EYES RESIDENTS' ALTERING OF WATERWAYS.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

When the next storm season hits, city officials don't want to be up the creek without a paddle - or authority - if residential alterations to rural waterways cause severe flooding again.

Eighteen months after creeks swelled and flooded Sand Canyon during the 1998 El Nino storm season and cost the city $58,000 in emergency cleanups, city staff members are taking steps to address residents' maintenance of small waterways on private properties, as well as their use of pollutants such as horse manure near creeks.

``I don't think people are intentionally polluting the creeks,'' said city spokesman Ken Striplin on Tuesday. ``It's common, especially in rural areas, for residents to move manure or dirt from one spot on their properties to another. They don't foresee that they'd affect creeks, downstream somewhere on their neighbors' properties.''

At the City Council's request more than a year ago, the staff investigated residential uses and environmental impacts along creeks on rural private properties, as well as the the city's authority to govern them. Their research now completed, city staffers were to present their findings to the City Council late Tuesday, during a non-voting study session at City Hall.

Problems with rural creek floods heightened during the 1998 El Nino storm season because residents had altered waterways on their properties, or expanded their properties into drainage areas, officials said. While some changes to landscapes caused severe flooding in Sand Canyon, other residents' use of horse manure to stabilize riverbanks also hurt the water quality of creeks, city officials said.

However, the city at the time had little option along the lines of enforcement, nor was it in the position to hold anyone liable for the massive cleanup that followed.

According to City Manager George Caravalho, officials later found that Santa Clarita's only authority over creek management is to remove nuisances and enforce building setback requirements.

``The city's primary role is to receive and investigate complaints related to illegal dumping in the creeks,'' Caravalho said in a July 6 memo to the City Council.

While an ordinance is in place permitting the city to prohibit, investigate and remediate illegal dumping activities, it does not stop a resident from gradually encroaching on the channels, he said.

``If it's a matter of public safety, we do a have a little more latitude,'' Striplin said. He added, ``But we prefer to work with people by educating them on these types of issues.''

The city staff at Tuesday's study session sought direction from the City Council on how to proceed in the matter. Several long-term options under consideration, said Caravalho, include taking no action. Another option is for the city or another government agency to rechannel the creek, or line it with cement to alleviate flooding and prevent contaminants from seeping into the soil.

Other options are for private landowners to channelize creeks on their land, widen or regularly clean brush from the creek, or use additives in their soil to mitigate the manure's impact on the land.

City officials have taken steps already to educate landowners on creek preservation, through the distribution of brochures on Proper Equestrian Ranch Management. The brochures currently are in production.