Calavera Creek/Agua Hedionda Creek

Within the boundaries of the City of Oceanside resides a portion of a small tributary to Agua Hedionda Creek, called Calavera Creek. Located in the southeastern corner of Oceanside near Lake Boulevard, Calavera Creek flows approximately one mile through the publicly owned Oak Riparian Park. Beginning in an undeveloped portion of land just west of Highway 78, Calavera Creek’s headwaters start in Vista, proceed through a pocket of San Diego County unincorporated area, head into Oceanside, then eventually drain to Calavera Lake in Carlsbad. At the base of Calavera Lake the creek reforms to wind its way through Carlsbad and joins the major artery of Agua Hedionda Creek. Near the Pacific Ocean, Agua Hedionda Creek opens up into a lagoon. The entire Calavera Creek Basin is approximately 3,770 acres. Calavera Creek joins a larger watershed, Agua Hedionda Creek, which is approximately 18,837 acres. Both Calavera Creek and Agua Hedionda Creek are a part of the larger Agua Hedionda Watershed, a sub-basin of the regional Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit.

Along the banks of Calavera Creek in the City of Oceanside is extensive growth of cattails and bulrush. Additionally, coast live oak, chaparral, and arroyo willows pepper the area. No endangered species have been identified within the area of Calavera Creek that flows through Oceanside. However, as a whole, Calavera Creek does serve as a wildlife corridor for migratory species.

Upstream of Oak Riparian Park are significant residential neighborhoods that contribute pollutants from urban runoff into the creek. While there is no federal- or state-listed pollutant impacts to the creek, sedimentation within the basin has been a problem that the City of Oceanside is currently correcting.

Due to the increasing efforts focused on managing pollutants entering our waterbodies from urban runoff, a Watershed Urban Runoff Management Plan (WURMP) has been created specifically for the Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit. This management plan identifies tasks related to urban runoff that all jurisdictions in the Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit are committed to implementing in order to improve the water quality of the individual watersheds. Attached is a copy of the Watershed Urban Runoff Management Plan (WURMP) for the Carlsbad Hydrologic Unit, broken into five sections for quick downloading.

Carlsbad WURMP Title Page, Executive Summary, Table of Contents and Acronyms List (336 KB)
Carlsbad WURMP Section I (498 KB)
Carlsbad WURMP Section II (2.2 MB)
Carlsbad WURMP Section III, Part 1 (451 KB)
Carlsbad WURMP Section III, Part 2 (659 KB)