The Friends of Garrity Creek (FGC) is a political organization in Contra Costa County, California which promote the preservation of
Garrity Creek
Garrity Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 creek in Richmond, California's Hilltop neighborhood. It runs into San Pablo Bay. It is sometimes call ...
.
Overview
The Friends was formed in 2001 when development on steep slopes near the creek's artesian spring source threatened its existence and quality. The friends were eventually successful in preventing the later determined illegal development which was in violation of grade limits for steepness.
The FGC fund-raise money and work to create awareness of the watershed and its importance to the area. The creek passes through Hilltop Green, under Interstate 80 via pipes, down a small canyon alongside Hilltop Plaza Shopping Center, and then through culverts to a gorge where it has been dammed to create
Hilltop Lake
Hilltop Lake is a lagoon in Richmond, California.Rheem Creek Watershed Map
. At that point the creek appears as a small lake, surrounded by
Hilltop Lake Park
Hilltop Lake Park, United States, is a city of Richmond, California park in the San Francisco Bay Area situated at Richmond Parkway and Lakeside Drive in the Hilltop neighborhood.
. The creek then continues through undeveloped land to its mouth at the shoreline of
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water ch ...
. The friends occasionally have organized volunteer events to clean up trash and to remove invasive species.Berkeley Is Not Alone in Saving Creeks, Natural Habitat by Barbara A. Pendergrass, ''Berkeley Daily Planet'', 6/15/2004, retrieved 7/26/07