Why is the ocean brown?

Every time it rains, runoff from the land impacts the river and coast.  And although we have accepted the 'chocolate milk' surf as normal after it rains, it has not always been this way.  This is what is known as a 'Shifting Baseline.'  (See Shifting Baselines in the Surf)

Rainfall this weekend was equivalent to what is known as the 'design storm' - we received approximately one inch over a 12 hour period.  For regulatory and engineering purposes, this quantity of rainfall can and should be retained on site.  This requirement is in the Ventura Countywide 'MS4'  (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) Permit, as a standard that all new development will be held to.

The problem, however, is that over the past 100 years our development patterns have directed rainfall off the land, into storm drains, and directly into the river and ocean.

URBAN RUNOFF:

Here's what Ventura Avenue looked like during the rain: the parking shoulder was flowing like a creek.  This is an example of Urban Runoff, and the water here is carrying everything from 'dog poop' and trash, to brake fluid and pesticides, into the storm drains and out to sea.

INDUSTRIAL RUNOFF:

A little further up the Avenue are the oil fields.  Here the runoff changes to a muddy brown.  Here erosion of soil from miles of oilfield roads in the hills and large impervious work yards flushes into the street...

...into the storm drains, and out to the ocean.  Any chemicals that have spilled or absorbed into the ground are flushed off the land along with this soil.

Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper Stream Team volunteers have been sampling this site for a couple of years, and although oil and gas is generally exempt from clean water rules, Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper has been successful in forcing Aera Energy to enroll in the industrial stormwater permit program.  

This video, starting around 3:20, describes ChannelKeeper's work and illustrates the runoff from this area, and also shows how security guards harass watchdogs, even though this is a public street.  

AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF: 

As the video illustrates, another major source of pollution agriculture.  Both livestock and irrigated crops contribute to water quality problems.  

One area we have been watching is the recent expansion of orchards and row crops at Taylor Ranch on the west side of the Ventura River.  This strawberry field was sprayed with chemicals on Friday, despite the storm bearing down on the region.  Because conventional strawberry growers use plastic to cover the ground, these fields generate significant runoff when it rains. 

Here a Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper volunteer is collecting a water sample from under the Main St bridge, just downstream of these fields.    Note the color of the river water. This sample will be analyzed for pesticides...  although a full-suite analysis would likely turn up a variety of pollutants.

Under the bridge is one of dozens of campsites in the floodplain - another issue of concern documented here: Salmon Run focuses on trash issue

We also went to look at the runoff onto Emma Wood State Beach from the strawberry fields up on the hill at Taylor Ranch.  This is a problem we first documented in 2007  when the fields were first developed.  We continue to received numerous reports from beach users, and this photo confirms that runoff still directly enters the ocean from these fields every time it rains.

The combination of all these sources, known as 'Non-Point Source Pollution' has a significant impact on our coastal water quality and health of the ecosystem.  The fine sediments that enter the river and ocean linger for months, and this is why the water at Surfers' Point often appears muddy, long after the rains have stopped.

This diagram summarizes the issues outlined here.  This is just a small part of the big picture...


...

Recreational Rivers

Saturday Feb 6, 2010:
Santa Clara River Kayak Run

I got a call Saturday morning. "Ventura River's only 70 cfs at Foster Park. But it looks like the Santa Clara may be do-able."

We are so fortunate to have two rivers in Ventura...

The rain had just started to come down in full force again. "I'm in. Let's do it!"



Most folks don't consider the recreational possibilities on these rivers in Southern California. After all, they're dry most of the time... Until they flood, and that's often not a safe option. But this year's series of storms has raised base flows so that the couple of inches of rain that fell on Friday made for potentially steady flows in the rivers.

The Ventura River had about 170cfs (cubic feet per second) in Matilija Creek, which when added to the 70 cfs in the North Fork made for over 200 cfs in the upper Ventura River. Enough to paddle a kayak in that reach of the river. The problem was that Casitas Water District was diverting the bulk of the flow into Lake Casitas at the Robles Diversion. So flows downstream of the diversion dam were still far from boat-able.








That's how four of us ended up driving out to Santa Paula with a carload of kayaks on Saturday afternoon. We put in at a steep streambank, and paddled into the fast-flowing chocolate brown river. The river quickly moved us downstream, with multiple opportunities for small surfing waves and class 2 rapids. Despite the rain and drizzle, we were having a blast!











Several miles downstream we approached the Vern-Freeman Diversion Dam. An operator on the intake works starting waving frantically at us as we approached, pointing us to the opposite bank. We knew the dam would mean a portage, and it turned out to be fairly straightforward once we bushwhacked through the willows.







After dragging our boats along the dam and lowering them down, we put back in below the man-made cascade. Paddling along the face of the dam and over to the fish intake, it was obvious why there is a need for re-design for fish passage around this facility. A fish would have a hard time detecting the fish intake from the bigger flows coming over the dam, and even then a drain pipe was delivering a muddy soup right into the entrance pool. A recent CalTrout legal settlement has initiated a design process that will hopefully remedy this problem. After all, steelhead must make it past this obstacle in order to reach the endless habitat in the Sespe Wilderness upstream.












Downstream of the diversion, things started to get a bit more urban. We passed below several large freeway bridges, wondering if anyone was noticing the small flotilla headed down the river. The bridges produced a few nice holes to play in before heading downstream again.










Down in the lower Santa Clara, just a couple of miles up from the estuary, is where things got a bit interesting. Here we almost got lost in the numerous small channels flowing through the willows. It took a bit of creative bushwhacking to find our way out to open water again. A short way downstream, we flushed out flocks of duck that became silhouetted against the sunset sky. It almost felt as if we were in another part of the state.







Tired from paddling all afternoon, and with daylight dwindling fast, I was glad to see the Harbor Blvd bridge ahead. We made the 14 miles down to the estuary from Santa Paula in about 3 hours.












We are looking forward to the next rains in the hopes that we will be able to paddle down the Ventura River. Let us know if you want to come along!




More on recreational rivers here:

http://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/02/santa-clara-river-overview-california.html

SA Creek Bike Path

This season's rains raised river flows enough to damage the Ojai bike path where it crosses San Antonio Creek.

Although there are plans to construct a bridge to solve the problem and alleviate the ongoing impacts, County workers were out this week adding new riprap to the streambank and replacing the damaged asphalt path with new concrete.

This illustrates the 'chain reaction' effect of hardening a streambank. 'End effect' increases downstream erosion, necessitating ever more rock and concrete. Streambank hardening also results in loss of trees and shrubs which provide habitat and cooling shade important for our native species.

Ojai Quarry April 2008

Got lots of calls on this one. Landmark bedrock boulder jackhammered out, legacy sycamore torn up and shredded on site... all on scenic highway 33, and the last real trout steam in the watershed.

Ojai Quarry After January storms

According to news reports, "With 9.51 inches of rain, the Matilija Dam area north of Ojai was the soggiest place in the county." A visit to the Ojai Quarry showed the power of water to move sediment downstream. We have been documenting impacts to the river since a landslide blocked the creek in 2006.



Flows on North Fork Matilija Creek peaked at around 800 cfs (cubic feet per second) on Jan 4th. Although much of the smaller debris from the slide moved downstream, obstacles still remain for migratory steelhead, and future storms will continue to cause further erosion into the stream.

Emma Wood Beach - Agricultural Runoff

Taylor Ranch runoff results in sediment plume and coastal impacts

Recent expansion of agricultural operations on Taylor Ranch, just north of the Ventura River, resulted in significant impacts to the coast. For several weeks in October, runoff from the large field above Highway 101 discharged through a storm drain onto Emma Wood State Beach. The beach was covered in mud several inches thick, and a plume was visible in the ocean extending downcoast through Surfers Point.

Local kiteboarders took these photos on 10/21/07 and sent them to authorities. If you see continuing problems, please take photos and document the impacts - we'll continue to pass the information on to regulators.

Coho Confab and Steelhead Pilgrimage: Part 2

Fishing the Klamath

It was fitting that as part of my introduction to the salmon rivers of northern California, I was destined to visit the Klamath River. The Klamath is notorious for the devastating fish kill of 2002, when over 30,000 adult Chinook salmon fell victim to upstream water diversions.
http://www.earthjustice.org/news/multimedia/video1/page.jsp?itemID=29675451




At first light we took a small drift boat to the mouth of what was once the third most productive salmon river in the nation.













Here, native Americans have permits to fish the estuary using gillnets. The scene reminded me of the local fishermen I have observed in Baja California. It's good to see there was still some commercial catch available to the local tribes.










After a couple of hours trolling, it was clear the fish were not interested in our shiny metal lures, so we took the boat upstream. Here we rowed upriver for an hour, walking and casting along the bank for the final half mile or so. Bear tracks on the riverbank served as a reminder of the relatively wild ecosystem, and there was "Large Woody Debris" of a scale not found in Southern California.





















"Pop!" The sound echoing up the river had us running for the boat. Lunch was served, with a nice bottle of wine. Top notch guide service!

























Algae has been a topic of interest since we started monitoring on the Ventura River. Here on the Klamath algae is largely the result of the upstream dams. In a complex reaction that highlights a delicate cause and effect balance, the dams heat the water and accumulate nutrients from farming. The release of this toxic soup downstream dramatically alters the ecosystem.

This photo shows typical algae growth in the lower Klamath River. As the sun came out in the afternoon, we measured water temperatures over 71F and levels of dissolved oxygen over 9 mg/l, a recipe for stress later in the evening when the plants cease photosynthesis.















As luck would have it, the fish were not biting upstream either. Whether this was due to warm water, or the earliness of the season does not matter. We had a good laugh, and drove back to the boat ramp where the locals were unloading the day's catch. As it was my duty to bring home some fresh fish, I happily bought a "seal bit" chinook, fresh from the nets, for a more than reasonable discount. (should have bought two!)

... continued (Part 3 "Steelhead Pilgrimage")

Cobble Mining

Ventura River Cobble Mining

May 20, 2007 – Matilija Creek – near Stream Team Site 15 – Cobble mining is common along Matilija Creek and the Ventura River, driven by a local market for landscaping and walls. (Bureau of Reclamation noted areas devoid of cobble-sized sediments during surveys for Matilija Dam Feasibility Study.)

Matilija Canyon Road Grading

Matilija Canyon Road Grading

July 31, 2007 - Matilija Creek below Matilija Dam – Recent grading of shoulder along Matilija Canyon Road, downstream of Stream Team Site 13. Vegetation and sediment pushed over edge of road. New wide shoulder creates opportunity for parking and dumping.