Castro Cove

Castro Cove is an embayment of the San Pablo Bay in Richmond, California between Point San Pablo and the confluence of Wildcat Creek into Castro Creek.

Overview

The cove is made up of mudflats, bay mud, and intertidal salt marsh owned by Chevron USA. The cove forms an important estuarine environmental resource for San Francisco Bay. It is the home of many endangered species including the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, Ridgway's rail, steelhead, and Olympia Oyster. Other benthic invertebrates, mammals, fish, and birds also live in the habitat; all the animals may have been injured by the contamination whether endangered of least concern. Castro Cove is named after Don Víctor Castro.

Pollution

The cove is also a recreational, fishing, boating, and shellfishing area. The Richmond Rod & Gun Club Yacht Harbor is located on the western coast of the cove. The Chevron Richmond Refinery located at the south end of the inlet dumps 5.6 millions (21,938 liters) of gallons of treated industrial use waters into the Cove, Castro Creek and San Pablo Bay daily. From 1902 until 1987 the refinery released various contaminants from its water usage and other run-offs which terribly contaminated the Bay muds of the cove. In 1998 the California Regional Water Quality Control Board began to catalyst cleanup of the site and pressured Chevron. The water board used the authority of the Bay Protection and Toxic Clean-up Program to have Chevron make a sediment characterization work plan in 1998. Years of discharge or polluted water left the cove with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mercury contamination.