San Jose shows progress in clearing encampments, reducing pollution along its waterways

"As San Jose attempts to comply with the Clean Water Act and other regulations, the city has significantly reduced the impacts from one of the largest polluters of its waterways: homeless encampments. In the previous fiscal year, the city cleared 16 of its 26 miles of most impacted waterways - removing 3.6 million pounds of trash and creating new no-encampment zones along them, a new report shows."

"San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan lauded the city's robust efforts but cautioned that the progress the city has made is merely incremental as it continues its push to reduce unsheltered homelessness and meet its environmental mandates. "This is the 26 miles we're focused on right now, but in our time together on this council, I believe we're going to need to get to a place where there is just a no-encampment zone along all the waterways," Mahan said at Tuesday's City Council meeting."

"the city is required to submit an annual report detailing its actions and performance in complying with the permit's requirements. It also requires that new development and redevelopment projects include design features and controls that reduce pollution in stormwater and prevent additional runoff. One of the key goals is a 100% reduction in trash entering waterways by the end of the year, which San Jose is on track to meet, as the city currently sits at just under 98%."

San Jose significantly reduced waterway pollution linked to homeless encampments by clearing miles of the most impacted waterways, removing millions of pounds of trash, and creating no-encampment zones. The city cleared 16 of 26 priority miles last fiscal year, later expanding to 27.2 cleared miles and 22 miles with encampment bans across a 100-plus-mile system. A stormwater permit requires annual reporting, pollution-reducing design for new development, and a goal of 100% trash reduction; the city currently sits just under 98% toward that goal. Officials attribute nearly 90% of waterway pollution to encampments and reported nearly $64 million in related compliance costs last year.

Read at The Mercury News