Quarry Lakes Shoreline Cleanup Volunteer Day

Volunteers are scheduled to fan out along Quarry Lakes’ shoreline on Sunday, April 19, for a cleanup and invasive-plant pull tied to local Earth Day service events. (contracosta.news) The event listing says volunteers will meet at Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area in Fremont, part of the East Bay Regional Park District system. The park’s street address is 2100 Isherwood Way. (contracosta.news) (ebparks.org) Shoreline cleanup means removing litter at the water’s edge. Invasive-plant removal means pulling non-native plants that can crowd out habitat used by local wildlife. (ebparks.org 1) (ebparks.org 2) Quarry Lakes is more than a recreation site. The Alameda County Water District says the lakes are also used to recharge the Niles Cone Groundwater Basin, which supplies up to half of the water used in Fremont, Newark, and Union City. (acwd.org) That water role puts restoration work in a different frame. The water district says water stored in the lakes is allowed to percolate underground into the basin, and the site is managed jointly by the water district and East Bay Regional Park District. (acwd.org) The park district has made Earth Day volunteering a districtwide push this month. Its April 14 announcement listed shoreline cleanups, invasive-plant removal, gardening and trail work at parks across the East Bay, including a Quarry Lakes shoreline cleanup in Fremont on Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to noon. (ebparks.org) Quarry Lakes also faces active water-quality and invasive-species concerns. As of the park page’s latest update, danger advisories for blue-green algae were posted at Horseshoe Lake and Lago Los Osos, and the district warned boaters about golden mussels detected at Contra Loma Reservoir. (ebparks.org) The volunteer page says East Bay Parks uses projects like shoreline cleanup and habitat restoration throughout the year, not just on Earth Day. For Sunday’s volunteers, the work is basic but direct: pick up trash, clear problem plants, and leave the lakeshore cleaner than they found it. (ebparks.org)