San Francisco Baykeeper Wins Cleanup of Local Creeks After Multi-Year Court Battle
Media Contact:
- Fiona Baker, [email protected], (510) 671-5705
San Jose, CA—On March 31, San Francisco Baykeeper won in court over the cities of Sunnyvale and Mountain View in a longstanding Clean Water Act lawsuit. The court determined that the cities are responsible for 1,208 Clean Water Act violations in Stevens Creek and Calabazas Creek. The cities will be required to comply with their Clean Water Act permits and stop high levels of bacteria pollution from reaching these waterways.
Baykeeper filed lawsuits against the cities in February 2020. The cities’ stormwater systems have been discharging, and continue to discharge, bacteria pollution into local creeks connected to the Bay. Baykeeper’s water sampling of local creeks showed bacteria pollution at levels 50 times higher than the legal limits and revealed levels of E. coli from human fecal matter in amounts which pose a danger to health and safety.
After five and a half years of litigation, the case went to trial in June of 2025. Prior to the trial, the cities sought five different times to dismiss Baykeeper’s lawsuit, rather than fix their pollution problems. The court consistently denied those requests and has now ruled that the cities are responsible for cleaning up the pollution they’ve caused. The judge’s next step will be to decide how the cities must go about reducing that pollution.
Baykeeper was represented in the litigation by Aqua Terra Aeris Law Group, Sycamore Law, and its own in-house staff attorneys.
Baykeeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh said in a statement:
“Sunnyvale and Mountain View have wasted years and squandered millions of taxpayer dollars fighting our lawsuits when they could have spent that time and money working with experts to fix their broken systems. Cities should be providing their residents with a healthy environment and local creeks that are safe for recreation, not fighting to keep polluting.
“The court ruled that the cities must clean up their act. We hope that the cities will now do the right thing going forward by investing in Bay-friendly infrastructure to capture pollution before it reaches storm drains, regardless of the source. That would be a win all around for the health of the creeks, local residents, and the Bay.”
Baykeeper managing attorney Eric Buescher added the following:
“Courts make decisions based on evidence. In this case, the evidence was clear: Sunnyvale and Mountain View have illegally polluted local creeks for years, with no meaningful changes. Over the course of the last eight years, Baykeeper investigated, uncovered, and ultimately proved the cities’ illegal conduct. We look forward to Sunnyvale and Mountain View complying with the law and cleaning up their systems, for the benefit of everyone who lives or recreates in or near these waterways.”
San Francisco Baykeeper defends the Bay and its watershed from the biggest threats. Its team of lawyers, scientists, and advocates holds polluters and government agencies accountable and has achieved a winning record for over 36 years.