OUR HISTORY
from Mined to Mindful
The San Diego River has always been a lifeline for our region.
It has sustained the Kumeyaay, the Spanish colonists—whose arrival lends to its name we use today—and an ongoing, steady stream of newcomers: farmers, settlers, us, and our industrial demands for sand.
And now, again, through our work here in Lakeside, and with partners along the river, it flows in service to the wild—sustaining native plants, animals, and the kinship that connects us all.
The San Diego River is California’s first river. It has always played an integral role in the lives of San Diegans from its importance to our Kumeyaay people, and all of the immigrant groups that followed. For many years, until the advent of El Capitan and San Vicente Dams, the annual flooding allowed for dry land farming along the river valley. With the advent of the dams, and the loss of ground water recharge, farming faded and sand mining became the staple economic activity along the river.
California's first river,
Empower
Growth
The San Diego River is California’s first river. It has always played an integral role in the lives of San Diegans from its importance to our Kumeyaay people, and all of the immigrant groups that followed. For many years, until the advent of El Capitan and San Vicente Dams, the annual flooding allowed for dry land farming along the river valley. With the advent of the dams, and the loss of ground water recharge, farming faded and sand mining became the staple economic activity along the river.
California's first river,
Empower
Growth
The San Diego River is California’s first river. It has always played an integral role in the lives of San Diegans from its importance to our Kumeyaay people, and all of the immigrant groups that followed. For many years, until the advent of El Capitan and San Vicente Dams, the annual flooding allowed for dry land farming along the river valley. With the advent of the dams, and the loss of ground water recharge, farming faded and sand mining became the staple economic activity along the river.