Planning for a Sustainable Landscape in Urbanizing Southern California —A Sub-Watershed Approach

The general purpose of the Chino Creek Integrated Plan (CCIP) is to focus planning attention on the Chino Creek area of the Prado Basin in San Bernardino County, California. The Prado Basin lies behind the Prado Dam, the major flood control feature controlling the Santa Ana River and providing flood protection for the downstream highly urbanized County of Orange in southern California. The CCIP was undertaken by the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) in partnership with Orange County Water District (OCWD), under a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and funding from OCWD and the City of Chino. CH2M HILL was retained by IEUA to develop the CCIP. The specific purpose of the CCIP is to identify those projects and measures that, when implemented, will result in improved water quality, flood control, habitat restoration, recreation, water conservation and public education within the context of the existing and future planned development of the area. The Study Area within the vicinity of the Santa Ana River watershed is shown in Figure 1. To determine the widest possible range of potential locations suitable for the various sustainable approaches, a Geographic Information System (GIS) was developed using the database of information collected during baseline data gathering. The data within each GIS layer were assigned numerical values and then overlain with other layers to score and rank locations for sustainable approaches based on such criteria as topographic suitability, creek channel geomorphic condition, or proximity to existing recreational trail systems. The results were then evaluated by the stakeholder forum and the optimum opportunities carried forward. GIS analyses were completed for streambank stabilization, stream restoration and both inline and offline treatment wetlands. In addition, the GIS tool proved useful in analyzing at the landscape level, the optimum location for habitat preservation and restoration.