It’s rained a lot in Contra Costa County in 2026. According to Contra Costa County Flood Control District stats, by mid-May parts of the county had received 18–39 inches of rainfall. Of course the rain is welcome—but it presents hazards.
These include, according to the Contra Costa Clean Water Program (CCCWP), untreated runoff, which flows directly from streets to streams. “Contra Costa relies heavily on the Delta for its drinking water supply, making the filtration of urban contaminants essential,” program materials state.
Other problems include stormwater picking up motor oil, pesticides, pet waste, plastics and legacy pollutants—like PCBs from older industrial areas—directly harming aquatic life and water quality, and fast-moving runoff causing channel erosion in local creeks, altering natural biological habitats.
The CCCCWP is conducting a survey of residents and business owners to find out where clean water, and especially the effects of stormwater, stand in people’s concerns. One of the first questions asks respondents to rank their major community issues and includes options such as “rising sea levels,” “overflowing river/creek when it rains” and “water pollution in our creeks and the Bay.”
Rinta Perkins, interim program manager for the CCCWP, said the focus of the survey is to listen to respondents. “We want to understand what problems they have, and where there might be gaps in our information,” she said. Often, she noted, people don’t think about stormwater—until flooding occurs. “Or they see beach debris or trash in the creeks,” she added. “We want to see if our program is making a difference.”
Other survey questions ask how long the respondent has lived in the county, do they engage in outdoor recreation, are they concerned about trash and litter, and how involved they are in their community.
Other responses included: “I worry about how water problems, like floods or droughts, will affect my community 10 years from now” and “To the best of your knowledge, what is the main source of water pollution in Contra Costa County’s local creeks and the Bay?”
The data the survey provides will go into a stakeholder database, said Perkins, that will be used by 21 agencies within county government.
“[The agencies] will use the information to prioritize projects and make better decisions,” she said. The survey will also help to identify gaps in outreach, she added, perhaps extending community input to schools, for example.
“When people understand how their everyday actions can impact clean water,” Perkins said, “they are more likely to become involved.”
Climate change is affecting stormwater runoff differently in different areas of the county, she emphasized. Low-lying coastal areas are dealing with the effects of sea-level rise, which will become more of a problem in years to come. But polluted stormwater can also seep through to groundwater. Inland areas such as Walnut Creek have different, but related, issues than the coast, and the agency wants to understand how these needs can be tied into its messaging.
“Areas with older buildings still have septic tanks, for example,” Perkins said. A study from Penn State Extension pointed out, “Too much water in your septic system’s drainfield can overload it and slow or stop wastewater treatment…[risking] septic waste backing up into your home… In wet weather, a rain-soaked drainfield may become saturated, preventing the effluent (liquid portion of your wastewater) from percolating down through the soil.”
Ultimately, Perkins said, survey results will be used to help community members understand how their actions impact clean water. “Getting folks to engage and help achieve solutions is the goal,” she said.
The survey takes perhaps 15 minutes to complete and can be accessed at: surveymonkey.com/r/CCSurvey26.
