Paso Robles winery helps restore portion of Adelaida Creek

A winery in Paso Robles is doing its part to help restore the North County’s waterways.

Parrish Family Vineyard owner David Parrish came across a hidden portion of a stream about four years ago while surveying his newly acquired vineyard on Adelaida Road, just west of Paso Robles. After consulting with a biologist, Parrish learned the waterway was part of Adelaida Creek, which runs about 6 or 7 miles east, starting with the .64 acres on Parrish’s property.

This past week, Upper Salinas-Las Tablas Resource Conservation District staff oversaw creek restoration efforts.

“It’s a start in the right direction,” executive director Devin Best said.

Parrish said the waterway had been hidden from view after previous owners planted pistachio and almond trees in the creek area starting in the early 1900s.

“They had planted the trees right through that swell,” he said.

When Parrish became interested in restoring the waterway, he found a partner in the San Luis Obispo County public works department. The county now maintains Parrish’s portion of the creek as a conservation easement, said Kate Ballantyne, the environmental programs division manager.

The county was looking for projects to help offset environmental impacts caused by the construction of the Nacimiento Water Project, which made the creek restoration an ideal opportunity, Ballantyne said.

“It turned out to be a good project,” she said.

Ballantyne said replacing the non-native plants that had grown along the creek with native species will help prevent runoff and erosion when it rains and allow water to percolate into the aquifer below.

Parrish said he hopes such restoration projects will help prevent floods, such as one that covered the Paso Robles Event Center in mud before the start of the 2015 California Mid-State Fair.

He also said he thinks it’s his responsibility as a vineyard owner “not only to produce crops, but to maintain our aquifer beneath our feet.”

“Our aquifer is not restored by water running down the hills,” Parrish said.

This story was originally published December 10, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Paso Robles winery helps restore portion of Adelaida Creek."