Windsor Creek

River in California, United States

38°35′26″N 122°47′38″W / 38.59056°N 122.79389°W / 38.59056; -122.79389^[1] MouthMark West Creek

• location

3 mi (5 km) northeast of Forestville

• coordinates

38°29′48″N 122°50′58″W / 38.49667°N 122.84944°W / 38.49667; -122.84944^[1]Basin featuresTributaries • leftPool Creek

Windsor Creek is an 8.8-mile-long (14.2 km)^[2] southward-flowing stream in Sonoma County, California, United States, which rises near Healdsburg, California, and feeds into Mark West Creek west of the Sonoma County Airport. Its waters reach the Pacific Ocean by way of the Russian River.

Course

Windsor Creek rises about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Healdsburg. It descends southward into the town of Windsor, paralleling Brooks Road to Hiram Lewis Park. It parallels Brooks Road South to U.S. Route 101, crossing under the freeway at milepost 29.5. It continues southwest through farmland to a confluence with Pool Creek east of Pratt Road. From there, it flows south to empty into Mark West Creek about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Forestville.

Watershed

The watershed is about 25 square miles (65 km²), with a maximum elevation of about 800 feet (240 m) and a minimum elevation of about 50 feet (15 m). The creek is seasonal and is generally dry during the summer months. With increased urbanization in the Windsor area, some parts of the creek retain water in isolated pools through the summer, due to runoff from sprinklers and other urban sources.^[3]

Pollution

The Community Clean Water Institute (CCWI) monitors pollutants in Windsor Creek and other Sonoma County streams. Their sampling showed that Windsor creek exceeded the North Coast Basin Plan Objectives for conductivity and dissolved oxygen in 2006.^[4] CCWI has also issued alerts for nitrates in Windsor Creek.^[5]

Bridges

Windsor Creek is crossed by at least five bridges:^[6]

at Old Redwood Highway, a 72-foot (22 m) prestressed concrete span built in 1995,
at Windsor Road north of Wilson Lane, a 67-foot (20 m) concrete slab built in 1967,
at Mark West Station Road, an 38-foot (12 m) concrete slab built in 1976,
at U.S. Route 101, a 35-foot (11 m) concrete culvert built in 1962, and
at Conde Lane east of Bell Avenue, a 26-foot (8 m) concrete culvert built in 1995.

References

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Windsor Creek
^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed March 9, 2011
^ "Section 4.4, Surface Water Hydrology, Incremental Recycled Water Program Draft EIR" (PDF). City of Santa Rosa. May 2003. p. 11. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
^ "Annual Report 2006" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-06-12.
^ "Community Clean Water Institute". Retrieved 2008-06-12.
^ "National Bridge Inventory Database".