On Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released its Draft Flow Recommendations for the Lower Ventura River and Coyote Creek, Ventura County. Recommendations for the Intermittent Reach and San Antonio Creek are expected to be released in upcoming weeks by the State agency.
The State’s recommendations — developed by those unfamiliar with the Watershed — request more flow than naturally occurs in the river under normal, or even wet, conditions, in many cases.
All those who rely upon the Ventura River would be impacted by these unrealistic flow recommendations which could result in severe pumping restrictions, reduced storage in Lake Casitas, and wasted water because flow alone is not the answer; other habitat factors play a key role and those are being ignored by the State.
Sacramento doesn’t know enough to be making decisions about the local watershed; their approach to establishing flows for the Watershed is clearly flawed, as evidenced by this first study. It’s imperative that landowners throughout the Watershed come together to support the local, collaboratively developed solution — the Physical Solution — proposed by local water agencies and agricultural entities, including within the Ojai Valley.
The Physical Solution that has been proposed will not only resolve pending legal issues, but also provide practical solutions, backed by expert advice, to the challenges that the Ventura River Watershed continues to face.
The local water agencies supporting the Physical Solution are currently available for meet and confer sessions to meet individually with interested persons who wish to learn more about the Physical Solution and its components.
The City of Ventura also published ads with the above text in VC Star, Ojai Valley News and VIDA (see attached image as reference).
