One of the greatest treasures and natural resources we have in San Diego are our ocean and bays. Yet, every year, pollution and bacteria degrade these waterways. Specifically, sewer pollution. Sewage spills occur when a sewer pipe leaks raw sewage into the water. Often the sewage will overflow into either a creek or into the street where it then flows into a storm drain, and then directly into ocean or bays. Often the sewer pipes that leak eventually crack apart and millions of gallons enter the natural water systems.

With more than 300 miles of City sewer lines located in our urban canyons, when there is a sewer line failure the spill can go undetected for many days leaving a grim impact on our rivers, bays and beaches.Through the Canyon Watch Program canyon areas that are not regularly accessed by citizens will be patrolled by volunteers. By increasing patrol areas, we hope to detect spills sooner and possibly prevent them at their source. Canyon Watch Volunteers regularly walk canyons and report all real and potential sewer spills directly to the City’s Sewer Emergency Hotline (619) 515-3525.

Currently there are 16 canyons that are equipped with sewer lines. To learn more about the program and how to become a volunteer, please click on the canyon name to download the guide. The PDF guides contain volunteer instructions, canyon entrance points, detailed maps and pictorial guides for each manhole. If you have any questions about how to become a volunteer, please contact SDOF (619) 523-1903 or email us at sdoceans@sdoceans.org

It is important to note that you cannot volunteer for this progam until you have completed and turned in the volunteer waiver and volunteer application form. After each hike, please report back using the online report form (this is our only way of recording who is monitoring the canyons and how often!)

All Canyon Guides and Volunteer Forms require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print