One of the signs recently installed by the Lake County Department of Public Works Road Division gives information about Manning Creek and the bridge that crosses it. Photo courtesy of Steve Stangland.

LAKE COUNTY – The next time you're driving over local bridges, watch for new signs that highlight the county's tributaries and offer information about bridges and roads.

The Lake County Department of Public Works Road Division is in charge of the signs project, according to Road Superintendent Steve Stangland.

State stormwater management mandates require the county do public outreach about the importance of protecting local water bodies, Stangland said.

Caltrans also requires that the county identify its bridges, so Stangland said they decided to take all of those mandates and create informative and interesting signs.

They didn't want plain markers, Stangland said, but instead sought to create signs that would help brand Lake County.

“We wanted something we could be proud of,” he said.

Stangland said Jaliece Simons and Jim Stuckert in the road division's sign shop designed the signs.

The signs include the creek that's being crossed, the outline of Clear Lake, a notation to “Help keep our waterway clean,” the bridge number, the year the bridge was built, the road number and the mile post marker number.

“They cover a multitude of issues,” said Stangland.

Stangland said the planning for the signs project started last fall.

Lake County Water Resources partnered with the road division, supplying $5,000 in funding for materials, he said. The road division is providing the manpower for the installation.

The first sign was tested out last fall at Rodman Slough, Stangland said.

Over the last several months the signs have started popping up all over the rest of the county, from Kelseyville to Lucerne.

Stangland said the biggest message of the signs is to remind people that they're crossing creeks. He said many people don't realize how often they travel over tributaries as they make their way around the county.

The education aspect of the effort also intends to inform people that all of the local tributaries drain to Clear Lake, he said.

If someone dumps motor oil in a creek in Cobb, that oil eventually will get to Clear Lake and will affect not only the lake but its wildlife, Stangland said.

“The message that we're trying to get out to people is that everything is connected,” he explained.

Stangland said the signs project will be ongoing, with the road department installing them in phases.

The first $5,000 for materials has covered 45 bridges, said Stangland. The county has 125 bridges altogether.

Eventually, the goal is to have the tributary signs installed on every county maintained road, Stangland said.

In a separate project, Stangland said the road division is working with watershed groups to install signs that designate watershed areas.

Visit the road division's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=112943542078816&ref=ts.

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