Fake Environmental “Steward” Threatening to Close Sycamore Pool (One Mile) to Swimming, for Good.
We issued a warning back in May about Rob Berry’s latest scheme to line his pockets, the hilariously misnomered “Chico Stewards for Parks and Waterways.”
As expected, he has begun to lay the foundation for his next lawsuit against the city. Rob partnered with the Redding law firm he previously used to help him harass the city and local service providers with frivolous lawsuits to send a series of threats to the council.
The rambling, often silly, hysteria-filled 13-page attack presents a plethora of misinformation, much of it wildly, egregiously misleading. We may discuss other parts of the letter later, but today our focus is on the portion calling for the closure of the Sycamore Pool.
The letter threatens a lawsuit if the City of Chico does not close Sycamore Pool immediately, citing “high” numbers of fecal coliform found in regular city testing.
“The Sycamore Pool should be closed immediately and remain closed until the source of the E. coli contamination is removed and the water made swimmable again.”
Sounds gross, right? The problem with taking this at face value is that there has always been, and will always be, coliform and fecal coliform found in the creek. It’s important to understand what coliform actually is:
Sycamore Pool is a natural waterway, not a closed-system, like a chlorinated pool. For most of the year, much of the coliform found in the water comes from the soil itself, as well as animals upstream, and is found in testing no matter the time of the year, findings that far precede the latest homeless crisis in Chico.
It’s also worth noting that the presence of fecal coliform does not necessarily indicate the presence of E. Coli. E. Coli is a sub-type of fecal coliform, one of 5 types of bacteria that make up fecal coliform. The city does not test generally test specifically for E. Coli, only coliform and fecal coliform.
So what do these numbers really mean? Chico’s Sycamore Pool is a unique swimming area, a "pool” fed by a natural creek. There are very few similar examples in the state, and because of this, the state doesn’t have clear guidelines for amounts of fecal coliform for this type of swimming area. Working with the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the city has developed guidelines deemed appropriate for management of this special resource. At the bottom of the first picture below, you can see those guidelines, and the actions that are triggered if they are exceeded.
Of course, coliform levels tend to rise and fall with the level of the creek and the amount of water in the creek. When we have a lot of rain and the creek level rises, coliform levels tend to remain low or drop. As the creek shrinks in the summer, they tend to rise.
In addition, during the summer, levels tend to rise substantially at the testing site just below Sycamore Pool; this is due to the number of people swimming on hot days.
In 2020, when people were camped in the parks, coliform levels were actually lower than normal, something addressed in last summers press release from Linda Herman, Chico Park and Natural Resources Manager.
Adding to the misinformation, at this time, very few people are camping in Bidwell Park, despite light enforcement. Most unhoused folks are camped at Comanche Creek and Windchime park, and only a handful have moved back to the park. Given that they are a fraction of the number of people who were camped in the park when coliform levels were unusually low in 2021, it seems unlikely a literal handful of campers are contaminating the creek.
Concerns about Fecal Coliform in Sycamore Pool are nothing new; there have been closures in the past and much has been written about it in the local press:
Chico News and Review Article, 2015
There was also an intentionally misleading series of tests done by a conservative group with an agenda last year, which was covered extensively by us and the local press.
Our Coverage was posted here and here
If this lawsuit proceeds, Sycamore Pool, beloved by families for generations, could be closed for good, as there is no way to eliminate fecal coliform from a natural waterway.
This latest threat isn’t about protecting the public, or our parks and waterways. This is about a come-lately Bay Area attorney and a Redding law firm lining their pockets at our community’s expense, nevermind whether they destroy a beloved Chico tradition in the process.
Please take a moment to contact the city council to let them know we expect them to stand up to this threat; our parks and our creeks are as safe as they have ever been, and we deserve to have access to them.
𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐔𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐨
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