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Felicita Creek in Escondido California

This is part two of my Kumeyaay Kitchen post. You can read it here.

The kitchen sits above a quiet little creek called Felicita Creek. It is part of our natural watershed creeks, and runs into nearby Lake Hodges.

I remember playing in this creek as a child, now it is unadvisable to touch or even be near this watershed.  Things have changed. Notice I did not take the dogs on this hike.

Although there are no signs or warnings, even the air around this creek can make you sick. In fact not many know about this as it is a secret and kept out of the news. I felt fine, but did not stay long and did not touch the water.

The reason it is polluted. Chatham Brothers Barrel Yard that opened in the 1940’s stockpiled industrial wast oil and chlorinated solvents from Southern California businesses. On the five acre site, workers stored leaky barrels and buried them as well as dumping the liquids into ponds. They sprayed motor oil over the site to keep the dust down. Over decades, the toxic waste dribbled into the groundwater.

Though the operation ceased in 1981 the result has been a plume, in this case an underground, water-fueled cloud of toxic vapor and liquid that continues to spread and has now hit Felicita Park and the creek that flows through it.

Fenced in 1984 the yard was designated a State Superfund Site in 1985; by 1990, 208 surface and 10 buried drums as well as 11, 430 tons of soil had been removed. But the efforts were not enough.

Today, the plume is a mile long, up to 1800 feet wide, though it is deeper in spots. It is migrating south, east and west, largely under Felicita Park as well as seeping into the creek.

So sad.. and it’s being kept out of the news, children are still allowed to play in the water.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the creek below. I hope you enjoy them.

#8 Tiny waterfalls

Some of you may know I am half Native American from the Nez Perce Tribe, and half Irish.  I don't know if that is the reason I feel so deeply sad when our water was not protected in our early settler days. We stole the land from its protectors, and ruined so much.. 

It still happens today with our giant oil companies running pipes of oil through our land. Pipes break.. This will continue to happen unless we all stand against fossil fuel. 

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What do you think?

21 Points

Written by Kim_Johnson

43 Comments

    • About 10 miles. The creek beside me is too polluted to get in. There is only one waterway where it is still safe to get into the water here. It is up north about 20 miles.

  1. Sadly, we are doing something with nature … we have recently experienced a catastrophe in our country when it has been burned in a hazardous waste landfill

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    • Thank you Michelle. I always try to research and write about the area before I post the pictures. This one was a shock, right in my own back yard. This is the second waterway that has been polluted this way another is the creek right beside me.

  2. It bugs me to no end when I see people throwing their trash out of the window of their cars, or just toss them where they stood. Maybe the State should send a team there to do some clean up and maintenance!

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    • They sent someone out, that says the pollution isnt so bad from the government, but scientists have done tests that are not bought by the government that says just to breath the fumes off of the water can make you very sick. Its a cover up. There are apartments nearby that have a lot of sick people from the water, that have filed suit. All this is kept out of the news.

  3. It is a pity that nature is being destroyed in such a cruel way. From certain individuals who also for humans. And the bill will finally be paid by everyone.

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  4. It is good to protect the earth, it is our responsibility to do that. I believe that people should look after and care for animals and each other. I don’t know why but I see that as one thing we should do. Lovely place, sorry about the pollution, perhaps the trees will help.

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  5. There is an old Native American Adage that goes loosely like this. Walk in the footsteps of another, leave no footprints behind. Walk with small feet and break no plants, leave no sign behind. We are children of mother earth and what we leave, scars out mother.

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  6. It’s always very sad to see such a thing, though unfortunately, it’s still happening everywhere. Beyond that, You have all the great pictures here! Somehow I find it easier to recognize your photo from a row of posts at the bottom of a post!

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