VENTURA : Council to Weigh Sespe Creek Bills
The Ventura City Council will consider today whether to support either of two competing bills in Congress that designate Sespe Creek a wild and scenic river.
Both bills would create a Sespe Wilderness Area. The 55-mile Sespe Creek, which flows through the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, is the last undeveloped river in Southern California.
One bill, introduced by Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura), would protect 31.5 miles of the river. It also calls for study of a 10.5-mile stretch near Cold Springs, where water providers have considered building a reservoir.
Another bill, sponsored by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), leaves open the amount of river that would be protected, but Cranston has said all 55 miles should be preserved.
A report to the Ventura council says damming Sespe Creek in Los Padres National Forest to provide a new source of water would be too expensive and politically impractical.
“It is time to acknowledge that the upper Sespe will not be developed and instead turn our attention toward more practical and affordable alternatives,” wrote Steven Chase, Ventura environmental coordinator.
However, the report supports a study of building small diversion structures in the last four-mile stretch of the creek near Fillmore.
The council will discuss the issue at its 7:30 p.m. meeting at Ventura City Hall.
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