The trade fair motto “Make a Splash” addresses our close connection to water – Marin Independent Journal

A Canada goose swims across a section of the Marin County Fairgrounds lagoon reflecting the rides at the Marin County Fair in San Rafael, Calif., Saturday, July 1, 2023. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

The theme of this year’s Marin County Fair is “Make a Splash.”

While you enjoy all the fair has to offer, please keep this year’s theme of water in mind. Visit the information booths and learn about our drinking water supplies, drought planning and remember the need for clean water. Water is essential to life and in Marin, being close to the water is linked to our sense of home, our great weather and the opportunity to play on the shoreline and bay.

When you go to the top of the Ferris wheel, take in the view. You can probably picture it already – Mount Tamalpais, Mount Burdell, and the open spaces in between that are great for hiking and biking and are home to animals and plants, some of which are only found in Marin.

Numerous streams flow from these hills and mountains into San Pablo and San Francisco Bays. The Ferris wheel turns and if you look north of the fairgrounds and the Civic Center Lagoon, you can see the forks of Gallinas Creek.

Every day, the tides sweep water through Marin’s creeks, past Highway 101 and into our residential areas. In many places, the tides come high because Marin’s deep valleys were wetlands before our towns and villages were built. Some of these valleys still contain native fish, including stickleback and steelhead trout, and probably some introduced species as well.

On most summer days, these tides fill the creeks when the summer currents dry up to a trickle. Higher than you can see along the coast, the floods shrink the beaches, filling Tomales Bay, Bolinas Lagoon and Drakes Estero. Secret beaches accessible at low tide and coastal trails along the coast disappear, washing away the footprints in the sand.

Water is humbling. Waves wash away sand, water sucks up wetlands, leaving open waters that drown rushes and saltworts under clear water. Disturbing water rises through our pipes and collects on the ground away from the shore. Puddles form in depressions along the roadsides. The tide recedes and the water disappears. But what if it stays?

Sea level rise is a certainty. While exact levels vary, Marin’s proximity to the water presents risks that require countywide planning. Marin communities know the risk, but we must act if we want to be prepared for the future. This county has experienced flooding, and we collectively remember those fears during the rainy winter as we watch water rise under bridges, along homes, and in downtown areas.

We worry about El Niño winters and full moons that bring higher tides than predicted. We often think of flooding as being limited to shoreline areas, but even without shoreline property, residents and visitors alike will feel the impacts of rising sea levels. Transportation, public safety buildings, utilities and emergency access routes across the country can be flooded, requiring comprehensive solutions. These comprehensive solutions require new approaches to the problems.