SANTA CLARA RIVER : Excavation of Sand Resumes Near Habitat

The Santa Clara River bed near Victoria Avenue is alive with more than the song of the least Bell’s vireo these days as heavy equipment scoops up sand and silt to cover garbage at the nearby Bailard Landfill.

The Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which operates the landfill, has a longstanding permit to dig in the river; however, there has not been enough sand in the river in recent years to excavate, said John Conaway, solid waste director for the district.

“Last year’s rains brought a lot of material down the river and this is the first time in four or five years there has been anything to excavate,” he said.

Because the endangered birds nest along the riverbanks, county permits require the district to excavate only the middle 500 feet of the river, leaving a 200-foot buffer zone at each bank. The county also limits the depth to a point considered the natural bottom of the riverbed.

Before workers excavate, however, they must rip out the arundo, an invasive non-native bamboo-like reed that grows in thick clusters and blocks water and debris flows during heavy storms.

“It’s a real problem for us,” Conaway said.

Dolores Taylor, county engineer with the Ventura County Flood Control District, said her department is pleased to have the regional district excavating again.

“We like it because it helps deliver the water to the ocean without obstruction,” Taylor said. “Lowering the bottom means there is more capacity inside the riverbanks.”

Ron Bottorff, chairman of Friends of the Santa Clara River, said he had no objections to the work.

“As long as they’re not taking out habitat, I don’t see where it could do much damage,” he said.

Landfill operators are required by state and federal law to cover all the garbage taken to the landfill at the end of every day.