20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 20-26, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Where Santa Rita Creek crosses from county to city jurisdiction, stream management changes—and residents are tired of repeat flooding. By Celia Jiménez Bolsa Knolls is a small community in unincorporated Monterey County, adjacent to the city of Salinas’ Santa Rita neighborhood. The community is surrounded mostly by agricultural land at the eastern base of the Gabilan Mountains. Little Bear Creek runs through town about midway along its journey to the sea. The town is prone to flooding every winter during the rainy season. There are vestiges of this annual tribulation even in dry times during early fall, before the rain returns: old and dusty sandbags are still stacked in walls in people’s front yards. Usually, thanks to a sound drainage system, the water lowers after a few hours, leaving murky puddles and tired residents who put their everyday lives on hold to keep their homes waterfree. While the water may be gone in a few hours, the uneasiness and anxiety residents feel during the rainy season remains and the frustrations come back every year while they fight to keep water from flooding their homes. Left: The channel of Santa Rita Creek in Salinas is lined with rock and concrete, with relatively little vegetation. It’s wider and clearer than in the county’s jurisdiction (below) just a few feet away, separated by Russell Road. DANIEL DREIFUSS CELIA JIMÉNEZ A Tale of Two Creeks
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