SIMI VALLEY : Group’s Goal Is Channel Cleanup

Taking its cue from the state’s Adopt-a-Highway program, a Simi Valley environmental group hopes to establish a similar anti-litter campaign for the Arroyo Simi Flood Control Channel.

The Arroyo Simi Aquatic Preservation Committee is working with Ventura County Supervisor Vicky Howard and officials of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District to get the cleanup program started, said John Etter, co-founder of the committee.

He said the committee’s goal is to get community groups and service organizations to adopt sections of the arroyo that they would scour for trash and other debris every few months. The arroyo stretches from Tapo Canyon Road on the east end of the city all the way to Moorpark.

Etter suggested that, in return for help, the park district post the names of groups participating in the cleanup program on signs along the arroyo. He said many residents now use the arroyo--which includes about four miles of bike trails--as a garbage dump. Etter said the arroyo is part of the city’s park system and should be treated as such.

He said the preservation committee was successful in attracting more than 100 people in April to clean up the channel in celebration of Earth Day. A number of businesses contributed equipment for the cleanup and food for the volunteers. The preservation committee plans to orchestrate another cleanup day next year.

Howard received permission from the county Flood Control District for last April’s cleanup and said she does not anticipate any official objections to the preservation committee’s proposal for a permanent cleanup program.