A project to bring hundreds of trees, a reclaimed wildlife habitat and a restored flowing creek to City Heights is now underway, with officials saying it could also help prevent future flooding in the area.
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The plan will allow a section of Chollas Creek to flow down a natural, vegetation-lined creek bed — replacing the current 50-foot-wide concrete channel and restoring 1,350 linear feet of the creek. It’s the first step in a project from Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek, supported by the City of San Diego, to help reduce surface runoff and improve water quality.
“I think today many of us feel not only pride, but a little bit of ownership of this project, because our community voices have been heard throughout this whole development process,” said Lynn Edwards, a board member for Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek.
The $11 million restoration of this section of Chollas Creek — one of San Diego’s longest urban creeks, at 30 miles — is funded by the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Wildlife Conservation Board and the Integrated Regional Water Program. It will be completed in March of next year.
A second phase of the project would eventually include building a nearby pocket park and a trail to connect cyclists and pedestrians to Sunshine Berardini Field Park.
“This is where… people from different backgrounds came to play and explore nature, and it means so much to me that there are folks like Groundwork who are able to… see beauty and potential and a new space for future generations,” said District 9 Councilmember Sean Elo Rivera.
Officials and advocates for the Chollas Creek restoration say that removing the section of concrete channel — located just south of state Route 94 near the intersection of Federal and Home boulevards — will help mitigate flooding during heavy rain events.
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In January of 2024, catastrophic flooding devastated San Diego communities, largely in working-class neighborhoods in the Chollas Creek watershed, displacing thousands of residents.
Since the January 2024 flooding, the city’s Stormwater Department has made progress clearing its concrete storm channels, which can get shrouded in debris and vegetation. But the work has largely been hampered by a lack of funding.
In a natural creek, the water can be slowed down by rocks, roots and vegetation — which takes energy out of the system and can prevent fast-moving flood waters — explained Kyle Haines, the assistant director of field research for UC San Diego’s Center on Global Justice.
“Water moves faster on concrete than on a permeable surface,” he said, adding that “more vegetation in the space allows for the water to go down through the root channels.”
Once the creek restoration is complete, 300 trees will be planted and 2.4-acres of habitat will be available for the area’s plants and animals.
As for the impact on local communities, Leslie Reynolds, executive director at Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek, summed up the project simply: “It’s going to be beautiful.”
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