Site CG1: Cieneguitas Creek
at Nogal Drive

From Hollister Avenue, turn towards the ocean on Nogal (just before Hollister splits into State Street and Modoc). There's a place to park on the left hand side, just before the bridge and bike path. Cross the bridge and make your way down to the creek on the upstream side of the abutment. We sample just above, or underneath, the bridge. There is no concrete here, but the bank is steep and can be slippery, so watch your step. We are still following that continuous stream of Atascadero water, following it uphill. Atascadero has two major tributaries above Puente: Atascadero (usually dry) and Cieneguitas. We sample Cieneguitas Creek for urban runoff from the upper State Street area. Perhaps the best way to look at the Atascadero sampling scheme is that at CG1 we sample urban runoff from the relatively small area between upper State St. and Foothill Rd.; we then see how the water quality changes when runoff from the more commercial uses around Modoc and Hollister are added (AT3). Next, we see what happens when agriculture and a golf course are included (AT2), and how this mixture differs from what we think will be cleaner flow from a much nicer creek (MY1). And finally, we see what happens when plant nurseries and more agriculture are added, and we turn the creek into a long skinny lake (AT1) during the dry season.

For a more in-depth description of this site, click here
Go downstream to Site AT3
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