Overview
Keep Chico Clean is the cooperative storm water management education and outreach program for the City of Chico and the Butte County Department of Public Works. Keep Chico Clean programs strive to foster public awareness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the prevention of runoff pollution of our local creeks and waterways via gutters and storm drains.
The Keep Chico Clean cooperative effort builds on the initial efforts of the following organizations:
- CALFED
- City of Chico
- Butte Environmental Council
- Big Chico Creek Watershed Alliance
- Kennedy/Jenks Consultants
These organizations came together as a coalition, under the banner of the Chico Urban Streams Alliance, aka Chico USA. Chico USA evolved out of concern for the water quality of Chico's creeks and streams. The project addressed urban runoff pollution issues in the area of Chico, California through conducting a public awareness multi-media campaign and one-on-one outreach to potentially polluting businesses; establishing a volunteer monitoring program through which Chico citizens train in stream assessment; and an assessment of the performance of two types of Best Management Practices (BMPs) used to update the City's criteria for facility siting, design and maintenance.
Chico USA formed with funding from a grant under the Proposition 13 Watershed Protection Grant Program. Funding support was provided by the California Bay-Delta Program (CALFED), which has an objective to restore ecological health and improve water management by working with the community at a watershed level. The State Water Resources Control Board awarded the grant to the City of Chico.