FIRST FLUSH 2008

First Flush occurred in Capitola, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and San Gregorio on Saturday, October 4, 2008

Our sincere thanks to everyone who helped make the First Flush event a complete success.

A special thanks to Dr. Jason Nachamkin, at the Naval Research Lab, who was right-on with his time predictions, making calling the First Flush much easier for CWC staff and the folks up north.

In Santa Cruz County, alarms were set for midnight. At 12:23am a call from Jennifer Heit in San Gregorio gave the heads-up that there was rain approaching. They mobilized quickly there (with Half Moon Bay mobilizing even earlier at 11 pm). In Santa Cruz, calls from volunteer Lucy & intern Robert confirmed there was rain on the Westside – and getting heavier. Via a three-way call with Debie, Nik and Nancy we made the official First Flush call at 12:43am. (Unfortunately for the Monterey area the storm went out to sea and skipped them this time around.)

Team members quickly mobilized - making timely arrival to their sites.  Between Capitola and Santa Cruz, 42 volunteers gathered in the field to collect water samples and measurements. Some climbed down slippery storm drain outfalls and some teams forded streams to reach their sites. The weather was very cooperative as we got enough rainfall to get a good flush, but it lessened enough so people weren’t completely blasted, making data collecting simpler.

Results of the lab analysis and a report will be provided once available to CWC.

Finally, check out the Good Times online for an article about First Flush by Arroyo Seco team leader & GT staff writer, Chris Magyar at: http://www.gtweekly.com/

Many, many thanks,

Debie, Nancy & Nik