Innovative Restoration Along the Guadalupe River

Story by CCW staff.

The Guadalupe River restoration project in San Jose tackles unique challenges of restoring a natural waterway in the heart of Silicon Valley. Years of urbanization left the river banks heavily compacted with degraded soils unable to support native vegetation.

Our innovative approach uses decompacted soil trenches amended with biochar to create favorable growing conditions for native riparian species like Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis), and California wild rose (Rosa californica). These trenches also function as bioswales, helping to capture and filter stormwater runoff. The project supports habitat for rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and other native aquatic species.