Later for drinking water and industry - necessitated the importation of water from outside the Santa Clara basin and construction of percolation facilities to maintain groundwater Over-pumping of groundwater - first for irrigation,

Protect neighborhoods from damaging floods, also restricts the natural migration of stream channels across alluvial fans and floodplains. Construction of levees and engineered channels, which

Coyote and Anderson dams, built to impound water for irrigation, groundwater recharge, and municipal water supply, also trap sedimentįrom the upper watershed and regulate flow of Coyote Creek, preventing much of the natural alluvial-fan and floodplain deposition. Today, the altered watershed functions differently. Willow groves, freshwater marshes, and broad floodplains provided abundant riparian and aquatic habitat that served a flourishing ecosystem. Water that did not flow via Coyote Creek to San Francisco Bay sank into the porous alluvial soil and replenished the groundwater reservoir beneath Santa Clara Valley. In its natural state, water and sediment from the uplands of the Diablo Range discharged to the valley lowlands during winter storms, depositing large amounts of sediment on alluvial fans within the piedmont and across the Coyote Creek floodplain. Many of the alterations drastically changed the natural function of the watershed system. As a result, the Coyote Creek watershed is now highly altered. The increase in the human population since the arrival of the Spanish explorers in 1769 has both stretched our use of the land�s natural resources and amplified our vulnerability to the natural processes that occur within the watershed. This additional area includes land drained by Laguna Creek, Mission Creek, Scott Creek, and other smaller creeks and engineered ditches. The upland area that drains to the confluence of Coyote Creek and Mud Slough also includes the map area outlined in white. North and west of this point, Coyote Creek is a tidal slough that extends to its confluence with Mud Slough. The adjacent map highlights the Coyote Creek watershed that drains to the baylands and marshes of San Francisco Bay, directly below the confluence of Lower Penitencia Creek and Coyote Creek. Here or map to enlarge (243k) Click here for legend

Coyote creek