Native Plant Nursery Relocated as Oro Loma Prepares for New Project to Improve Water Quality in San Francisco Bay

SAN LEANDRO, Calif., Sept. 20, 2018 – Oro Loma is set to embark on an exciting new wastewater treatment project this fall.  As a result, the native plant nursery established at the District in 2014 in partnership with Save The Bay has a new home. The nursery, originally created as a place to grow seedlings for the Horizontal Levee project, is now adjacent to the levee itself on the Oro Loma site. Here, the nursery will continue to benefit from Oro Loma’s available land and non-potable water supply.

To facilitate the nursery relocation, Oro Loma staff used heavy equipment to move the Save The Bay plant beds, and Waste Management donated compost locally crafted from the community’s green waste and food scraps. 

The move of the native plant nursery comes as construction begins for Oro Loma’s next focus in environmental innovation – a $25-million wastewater treatment project to treat nutrients before returning the water to the San Francisco Bay. With this project, Oro Loma becomes one of the first agencies in the Bay Area to take action in response to growing concerns about nutrient levels in the bay.

Save The Bay Nursery Manager Jessie Olson said, “The staff at Oro Loma has made the plant nursery relocation effort a breeze. Retention of the nursery will allow Save The Bay to use the native plants at other transition-zone restoration sites throughout the East Bay, including at Eden Landing just south of the district in Hayward.”

Oro Loma Board President Shelia Young added, “The Save The Bay nursery relocation on the Oro Loma site reflects some of the great work at the District. First, we will continue our partnership with Save The Bay to provide land and water to grow a native plant nursery supporting shoreline restoration efforts in the South Bay. Second, we are moving the nursery to allow construction of $25M in treatment enhancements, which will improve the water quality in the San Francisco Bay. Lastly, the new nursery site incorporates compost donated by Waste Management, produced from green waste and food scraps discarded by residents in the Oro Loma community.”

Since 1911, Oro Loma Sanitary District has provided wastewater collection and treatment services, along with residential and commercial solid waste and recycling services, to its customers. Oro Loma Sanitary District encompasses 13 square miles and serves the communities of San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, and portions of Castro Valley, City of Hayward and City of San Leandro. The District’s mission is to provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost.  For more information, please visit http://www.oroloma.org.