Community Assessment - Health & Quality of Life in San Mateo
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community appearance

A sustainable and attractive physical environment is essential to maintaining a high quality of life. Note the following evaluations of the county’s environment:

• A total of 56.6% of San Mateo County survey participants consider the physical environment "excellent" or "very good" in terms of being free of pollution, having clean streets and yards, and having attractive neighborhoods and buildings, while 10.8% say the physical environment is "fair" or "poor." Low-income individuals are most critical of their surroundings (29.5% "fair/poor"). ³⁶⁷

While the physical environment in San Mateo County received relatively high scores, survey participants did cite pollution and environmental issues as a top health concern in the county. See Public Concerns page for details.

land use

With much of San Mateo County’s land either built out or protected, infill development has become a necessity although, there is no agreement as to how much land is available for infill development. While many believe that there is little land available, the San Mateo County Economic Development Association reports that there is available land along the eastern transportation corridors (Highway 101 and the CalTrain corridor).³⁶⁸

• The majority of urban development is located in the eastern and northern regions of San Mateo County. Because of a lack of space, development is moving towards the western region of the county. The dominant urban land uses are residential, infrastructure, commercial, and urban open space. ³⁶⁹

• Between 1990 and 1995, over 1,000 acres of rural land and urban open space gave way to residential, commercial, and industrial development. During the same period, conservation groups in the county protected well over 1,000 acres of forest and rangeland from development. Furthermore, park and conservation districts have protected over 81,500 acres of open space in the county (28.7% of total county acreage). ³⁷⁰

• Total acreage for outdoor agriculture has stayed level, while total acreage for indoor agriculture has grown. Indoor- and outdoor-grown floral and nursery crops comprise the largest percentage of total gross production value. Organic farming is slowly growing in the county. ³⁷¹

• There is a large amount of land dedicated to recreation and nature in the county. Of 15 responding cities, the number of acres of developed park lands per 1,000 people ranged from .08 to 5.3 acres (Hillsborough had the least, Portola Valley had the most). The number of acres of open space per 1,000 people ranged from .07 to 553 acres (South San Francisco had the least, Portola Valley had the most). ³⁷²

• All cities are adjacent to county park lands, state park lands, dedicated open space areas, or watershed lands. ³⁷³

Community perceptions of outdoor recreational options in San Mateo County are addressed on Reacreation, entertainment & cultural offerings  page.

air quality

• In San Mateo County, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and PM10 (particulate matter larger than 10 microns, i.e., dust, ash and smoke) did not exceed the California standard between 1995 and 1996. The fact that "days over standard" for PM10 was zero from 1995 to 1996 is especially good, in that PM10 is a major air pollutant. ³⁷⁴

• Ozone levels in San Mateo County have fluctuated, exceeding the standard on zero days in 1994, five days in 1995, and one in 1996. ³⁷⁵

• Although present and projected improvements illustrate a steady rise in air quality, the county’s cleaner air may be due more to prevailing winds which carry pollution elsewhere than to a reduction in pollution. ³⁷⁶

Environmental health effects attributed to dust or smog are addressed in environmental health effects in this section.

water supply, quality & usage

• The county’s water, mostly coming from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in the Sierra Nevada, is very clean. The levels of all major contaminants in the county’s water are far below state standard maximum levels. Quality of drinking water in San Mateo County has varied little over the last eight years and remains excellent. ³⁷⁷

• San Mateo County survey respondents give the quality of the local drinking water moderate evaluations, represented by 44.5% "excellent/very good" responses and 22.6% "fair/poor" responses. These evaluations are similar to those throughout California. ³⁷⁸

• San Mateo County’s water consumption per capita per day is less than the Bay Area average. The 1995-96 level of per capita consumption was 128.3 gallons per day and represents a 5% increase in water consumption since 1993-94; however San Mateo County consumption remains 28.2 gallons below the Bay Area average of 156.5 gallons per capita per day. ³⁷⁹

solid waste disposal & recycling

Conservation, reuse, and renewable resources are the tools for sustaining a healthy environment.

• In 1990, the average San Mateo County resident generated 8 pounds of solid waste a day, with 6.8 pounds disposed into landfills and 1.2 pounds diverted (recycled or composted).³⁸⁰

• Although solid waste diversion is increasing, so is disposal into landfills (up 9.5% from 801,361 tons in 1990 to 878,347 tons in 1996), at least partially due to increased population. San Mateo County is far from achieving a 50 percent reduction in solid waste disposal by the year 2000 as mandated by the state. ³⁸¹

• More than nine out of 10 San Mateo County survey participants (93.2%) report that they participate in recycling efforts, either through a community-sponsored program or on their own. This is slightly higher than that found statewide (90.1%). ³⁸²

environmental health effects

• Nearly three out of 10 survey respondents (28.4%) report a household member with health problems — such as breathing problems, asthma, allergies or sinus problems — related to environmental smog or dust. This is lower than California overall (34.6%). ³⁸³

blood lead levels

• Significant concentrations of lead can be found in dust and soil, and in paint, particularly in apartments and homes built before 1950. Overexposure to lead may cause serious health problems in California workers, including injury to the nervous system, reproductive system, kidneys, blood-forming system and digestive system. Children aged 9 months to 5 years are at the greatest risk for lead poisoning. ³⁸⁴

• In addition, some home remedies commonly used among resident ethnic communities also contain lead, including: ³⁸⁵

*  Pay-loo-ah: a red powder given for rash or fever. (Hmong community)

*  Ghasard: a brown powder given as an aid to digestion (Asian Indian community)

*  Bala Goli: a round, flat, black bean dissolved in "gripe water" and used for stomachache (Asian Indian community)

*  Kandu: a red powder used to treat stomachache (Asian Indian community)

*  Kohl (Alkohl): a powder used both as a cosmetic eye make-up and applied to skin infections and the navel of a newborn child. (Arab American community)

• Lead Exposure Risk Zones have been identified in selected census tracts of Daly City, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and East Palo Alto. ³⁸⁶

*  Census tracts classified as high risk are those that fall in the upper 50th percentiles of the proportion of families living under the poverty line, proportion of population under six years of age, and proportion of housing stock built prior to 1950. Several additional tracts were added due to the presence of an unusually large number of childhood lead poisoning cases. ³⁸⁷

387  Ibid.

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