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<br />Irregular settlements within the floodplain of the Alamar River pose serious risks due <br />to hazards caused by flood events. As recently as 1998, residents experienced flooding. <br />Local residents informed researchers that up to five feet of water flooded their residences <br />(interviews with local residents, June 23, 2000). The rainy season should be a concern for <br />river dwellers as flooding can threaten lives and property. Irregular settlements within the <br />floodplain destroy the riparian habitat, alter stream flows, and change the shape of the <br />floodplain. This land use activity increases stream bank erosion, and increases the danger <br />to property and lives during a flood event, particularly downstream. <br /> <br />Within the urban core (Zone I), farming is predominantly for subsistence; however, <br />farther east (Zones 2 and 3), commercial farming and ranching activities are carried out. <br />Agricultural activities in the Alamar River Valley include crops and livestock. In terms of <br />water quality, fertilizers and pesticides utilized in crop farming can be carried offby <br />irrigation or storm water runoff, and pose potential contamination threats to surface and <br />groundwater. Most of the agriculture in the Alamar River Corridor is irrigation farming <br />with water drawn from local groundwater supplies. Interviews with local farmers reveal <br />that groundwater quality in Zones 2 and 3 is excellent for irrigation, as well as for <br />domestic and drinking uses (see photograph 4, page 22). <br /> <br />Livestock, including hogs, horses, beef cattle, milk cows, and goats were .observed in <br />Zones 1,2, and 3. Livestock were seen grazing in the streambed and riparian areas (see <br />photograph 6, page 22). Livestock grazing can impair wetlands in two ways: (1) cattle <br />trample the stream banks and riparian vegetation, which results in sparser, less diverse <br />wetland vegetation, and decreased stream bank stability, and (2) they graze on young or <br />emergent riparian vegetation including cattails and rushes, as well as young willows, <br />sycamores, and oak trees (Campo EP A 1994: 3-25). Overgrazing wetland vegetation in <br />streambed and riparian areas alters the hydrology and impairs the water quality of the <br />area. By reducing the vegetative cover of the streambed and riparian areas, livestock <br />indirectly increases stream bank erosion (and sedimentation rates downstream), lowers <br />the groundwater table, reduces surface water stream flows, and increases peak flood flow <br />rates downstream (Campo EPA 1994: 3-25). <br /> <br />Other land uses in Zones 1 and 2 include industrial activities such as sand and gravel <br />mining and manufacturing facilities. Commercial use, legal status aside, varies in <br />intensity. Food stands, nurseries, and transient vendors are some of the lighter <br />commercial uses, while more intense uses are as varied as auto shops and building <br />material sales. <br /> <br />Recreational use in Zone 1 of the Alamar River Corridor is seen at the two water <br />parks near the end of the channelization. However, it will be impossible to improve <br />recreational conditions if refuse and trash dumps scattered throughout the urbanized <br />section of the corridor are not removed. Zones 2 and 3 are characterized by low density <br />legal housing, sand mining, natural habitat, and limited infrastructure including paved <br />and gravel roads. In Zones 2 and 3, there is a rural atmosphere conducive to recreational <br />activities such as bird watching, camping, hiking, and even equestrian pursuits. <br /> <br />36 <br />