Many people pass by the Santa Ana River every day. At first glance, one may not notice the issues hidden beneath the bridges.
The Santa Ana River is neglected and unsafe. While the city has taken steps to improve this situation, it needs to do more for the better of the community.
The river has been around since the 1700s where it was used by Native Americans as a source of water. In later years the channelization allowed for safer measures for people near the river due to flooding. It has a large cultural significance to many residents because of its long history. Then, in 1975 recycling and purifying wastewater had become implemented. With more and more improvements on the way. Especially with new trails that stretch 110 miles, residents are encouraged to utilize it.
Now it is unsafe to use even during the day due to the growing homeless population. Every day after school I would pass the bridge to get to the bus stop and every time there were groups of homeless and other individuals. These people appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol based on their erratic behaviors. It filled me with fear of being attacked and frustration knowing that there are families and younger students who pass the bridge and use these trails to get home. I was not the only one to notice this, the city is fully aware of the current situation.
The city of Santa Ana posted on their official website an article referring to the homeless. In it they are acknowledging both an increase and decrease in the homeless population.
“The number of unhoused individuals in Santa Ana increased in 2024 from 2022 … but over a five-year period the number declined by over 19%,” the report said.
They are also aware of common causes of being homeless, things like substance abuse, mental health, physical health and difficulty finding jobs.
Their response was passing operations like the Quality of Life Team and the Santa Ana Navigation Center have been working hard to help resolve this pressing issue. Also, the Mayor has passed ordinances to protect public spaces and connect people to services. But why are there still so many homeless?
One reason is substance abuse and long wait times. On June 17, 2025, the city, through its council, made an agreement with City Net to use $500,000 in order to help the homeless struggling with addiction. With this they acknowledge substance abuse as a major contribution to the homeless population. Not just that but they also noted long wait times. Why is this so important?
CSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, a research group in California, made a report on the homeless issue.
“Despite high rates of use and overdose, homeless Californians had limited access to substance use treatment,” the report said.
They also added that long wait times made it difficult to access treatment. In some cases it took too much time and energy to receive these treatments.
To learn more about this, I decided to make calls and get answers. This proved to be challenging. Most of my calls ended with them saying they would call back, and I would never get a response.
Except for one, I was able to call 211, which was able to provide me with information about other programs and a wide range of services throughout Santa Ana and OC. As well as referrals to shelters like Yale Navigation Center and even behavioral health resources through OC Link.
They also spoke briefly about programs like SMART. Which is a small team doing their best efforts to reach out directly. In doing so they offer resources and connections to other treatments. Other programs also help with providing housing. PATH is a non-profit organization determined to end homelessness.
What about the river itself?
From what I have seen, the river bed always has litter along the river trails and homeless people under bridges with large blankets. So, what has the city done in terms of care for the significant river?
One thing I found was problems with bacterial pollution in the water quality annual report.
for the watershed led by SAWPA.
“In 2024, no Priority 2 site attained TMDL waste load allocations (WLAs) throughout the dry season,” the report said.
What this is saying is that the Santa Ana River is failing to meet water quality standards. Showing that issues with pollution remain a large problem.
What about clean ups? Santa Ana, Orange County and other programs have set up multiple clean up to try and resolve the problem. But clean ups remove trash but don’t resolve the issue, pollution both litter and bacteria reaccumulates rapidly.
This is important because high bacteria or trash can make areas unsafe. Not just in the river but stormwater runoff with pollution from streets also contribute to worsening water quality.
While the city has taken actions, the Santa Ana river and other areas face serious safety concerns and cleanliness problems. These issues affect students, families and the rest of the community. The city needs to strengthen its response and the people need to get involved and advocate for real change.
