Petaluma River - Habitat and Pollution

Habitat and Pollution

The marshes provide an important wildlife habitat and fish hatchery. However, since the onset of intensive European immigration in the mid-1850s, the water quality has diminished, partly due to overgrazing and other agricultural uses. Pollutants present in the river include nitrates, phosphates, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides and sediment. Urban runoff, particularly from the City of Petaluma, adds heavy metals and hydrocarbons to the river. Starting about 1990, material steps were taken to mitigate the pollution. However, continuing population growth makes it difficult to attain the State of California's water quality goals.

Because the Petaluma River is relatively well-protected, most of the pollution comes from nearby storm drains. It is up to the people of Petaluma to keep the river clean.

When walking along the River, one can see, just by looking, a lot of pollution and garbage, but despite that, the river is actually clean enough to swim in because it is not polluted with toxins. Because of the tides and its shallow nature, it has a lot of dirt and soot that make it appear dirty when it is, in reality, not that bad.

The Petaluma wetlands that is connected to the river is one of the last remaining protected wetlands in the state of California and on the west coast. It acts as a water filtering system that also keeps the river very clean. Because it is protected so well, it keeps the ecosystem thriving so that everything runs as it should.

The biggest threat to the Petaluma River right now is from the possibility of a concrete plant being built near it. This plant is called Dutra and the loud noises it will create will scare away the birds and throw off the entire ecosystem. Despite common beliefs, noise pollution is actually extremely harmful.