City Could Pay $20,000 to Help Protect Trout

The Ventura City Council is poised to contribute $20,000 to a new joint agency that will create a recovery plan for steelhead trout in the Ventura River and its tributaries.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is expected to make a final ruling in August on whether the West Coast steelhead trout should be considered threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

If the trout is found to be endangered, water agencies will be forced to take steps to protect the ocean-going fish that spawn in coastal streams from Malibu Creek north to the Santa Maria River, including the Ventura and Santa Clara rivers.

According to a National Marine Fisheries Service report released in July, there used to be 55,000 southern steelhead trout in the region, which includes the Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Ventura and Santa Clara rivers and Malibu Creek. Now officials estimate that there are only 500 of the fish remaining.

Because the operation of Ventura’s water diversion facilities in the Ventura River is likely to be affected by such a ruling, several local entities have joined together to begin taking necessary steps now. The entities include the city of Ventura, the Casitas Municipal Water District, Ventura County, the Ojai Valley Sanitary District, the Ventura River County Water District and Southern California Water Co.

Officials estimate the steelhead recovery plan would cost $100,000. Ventura would pay 20% of the project’s cost to Casitas, which would manage the plan’s preparation.

Ventura is relying more heavily than ever on the Ventura River as its main source of water.

Ventura now diverts 8,000 acre-feet a year drawn from wells beneath the river. Starting in July, Ventura will begin purchasing at least 6,000 acre-feet a year from the Casitas water district, which draws most of its water from Lake Casitas.