San Luis Rey River

The San Luis Rey (SLR) River is located primarily along Highway 76 in Oceanside. Originating in the Palomar and Hot Springs Mountains, the river ultimately ends at the Pacific Ocean. It extends over 55 miles across northern San Diego County forming a watershed with an area of approximately 360,000 acres or 562 square miles. Within the City of Oceanside, the San Luis Rey River is also fed by one of its tributaries, Pilgram Creek, which is located on the northeast end of Oceanside.

About 8 percent of the City of Oceanside’s water supply comes from the San Luis Rey River Basin. Water from the basin is pumped from wells and treated at a reverse osmosis plant before being sent to Oceanside residents.

There are 36 vegetation communities within the SLR River Watershed, with the coastal sage scrub, chaparral and grassland communities being the most abundant. Numerous protected and sensitive species and vegetation communities occur throughout the watershed.

The San Luis Rey River flows through the County of Riverside, County of San Diego, City of Escondido and City of Vista before making its way downstream to Oceanside. There are numerous land use types within the watershed; however, the majority of the watershed has remained undeveloped. Much of the western half of the watershed is privately owned and much of the eastern half is publicly owned.

Many agricultural areas, sand mining operations and septic systems surround the San Luis Rey Watershed. These land uses, along with urban runoff from developed areas, have introduced many pollutants into the river and have degraded the water quality. According to the State Water Resources Control Board, the river shows high levels of chloride and total dissolved solids. At the mouth of the river, near the Pacific Ocean, the river water shows high levels of bacteria.

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 San Luis Rey Watershed. This management plan identifies tasks related to urban runoff that all jurisdictions in the San Luis Rey Watershed are committed to implementing in order to improve the water quality of the watershed. Attached is a copy of the Watershed Urban Runoff Management Plan (WURMP) for the San Luis Rey Watershed. It is broken into five sections for quick downloading.

WURMP Title Page, Table of Contents, Acronyms List and Executive Summary (145 KB)
WURMP Section I – Introduction and Watershed Description (2 MB)
WURMP Section II – Water Quality Assessment (1.4 MB)
WURMP Section III – Plan of Action, Part 1 (407 KB)
WURMP Section III – Plan of Action, Part 2 (312 KB)

2001-2002 represented the first year of implementation for the San Luis Rey Watershed Urban Runoff Management Program. Provided is a copy of the first annual report, broken into sections for quick downloading.

Table of Contents/Executive Summary/Section 1-Introduction (954 KB)
Section 2-Implementation (881 KB)
Education Figures (2.5 MB)
Public Participation Figures (861 KB)
Section 3-Water Quality Assessment (1.3 MB)
Section 4-Program Effectiveness/Section 5- Conclusions and Recommendations (609 MB)

Because the San Luis Rey River is a vital part of many communities, concerned citizens, businesses and organizations throughout the watershed have formed the San Luis Rey Watershed Council to voice their opinions about proposed projects affecting the watershed. The Watershed Council is overseen by the Mission and Upper San Luis Rey Resource Conservation Districts, and has one full-time coordinator who seeks grants and other projects to help improve the health of the San Luis Rey Watershed. For more information about the Watershed Council email Cynthia Mallet.

The City of Oceanside Clean Water Program hosts an annual volunteer cleanup day along the San Luis Rey River. For more information, check out the Clean Water Projects page on this website.