COUNTYWIDE : Approval Expected for Study of Creek

Federal legislation to fund a $620,000 study of Calleguas Creek is close to approval by Congress, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) said Thursday.

The study will determine whether a flood control channel should be built along the creek so more crops can be planted without fear that they will be washed away in heavy rains.

Gallegly said he expects money for the analysis to be approved by Congress very soon. The House approved the bill Thursday.

The $220,000 included in the current bill will be coupled with $400,000 set aside last year for the study by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Calleguas Creek, which receives runoff from much of eastern Ventura County, has flooded on several occasions, most recently in 1980 and 1983. The flooding caused damage to Mugu Lagoon and crops grown on the Oxnard Plain and damaged the Navy’s Pacific Missile Test Center at Point Mugu.

Beth Rogers, chairwoman of a county Committee for Flood Prevention, said the study will look at the benefits to agriculture if a flood control channel is built along Calleguas Creek. She said the study will also look at ways to reduce silt damage to Mugu Lagoon.

“The problem is we have very low-yield crops like celery and lettuce” in the Calleguas Creek area, Rogers said. “We can’t plant higher yield crops like tree crops, strawberries or raspberries because you can’t have water on them.”

Calleguas Creek was built more than 30 years ago by the Soil Conservation Service as drainage for agricultural lands. The urbanization of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo has caused more water to flow down the creek, causing downstream flooding, Rogers said.