Reinforce Safety Plans Too

Life is a gamble everywhere but Californians play against especially long odds. Drought. Flood. Wildfire. Mudslide. And beneath it all, the ever-present threat of earthquakes.

Now, more than 14,000 residents of the Ojai Valley and western Ventura face a period of greater than usual danger, a case of higher short-term risk in the interest of a safer future. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is preparing to begin a $42-million project to reinforce the Casitas Dam. Work is scheduled to begin in June and continue for 18 months.

It is necessary because 40 years ago the dam was built atop soft, sandy soil that could liquefy during a major quake. The plan is to remove some of that spongy soil and replace it with firmer earth.

When the work is finished, the dam should be much stronger. But during construction--especially from June to December, according to the current timetable--the dam will be considerably weakened. Should a major earthquake occur during this period, or should unforeseen problems cause undermining of the earthen dam, the quarter-million acre-feet of water in Lake Casitas could escape to race toward the sea. Hundreds could be killed.

Bureau officials and local emergency personnel have begun holding community meetings to inform area residents and encourage individuals and families to become prepared. They emphasize that the risk is very low, that every precaution will be taken to work swiftly and safely and that warning and evacuation plans are being stepped up and widely publicized. That offers only partial comfort.

Residents of the area acknowledge that the work must be done. They have successfully called for a system of sirens along an 8-mile stretch of Coyote Creek and the Ventura River that could give a precious few minutes of warning in case the worst should happen. That system is to be installed this month.

Some in the area, notably the West Side Community Council, are taking advantage of the situation to strengthen the neighborhood bonds and house-by-house emergency preparations that every community ought to have in place. One request they have made is that the warning sirens remain in place after the dam repairs are completed, contrary to current plan. Although the dam will be stronger, they argue, a flood from Lake Casitas will always be a possibility, if slight. Keeping the sirens would provide a little extra peace of mind. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask in return for the increased stress neighborhood residents must endure over the next 1 1/2 years.

We encourage area residents to learn all they can about the dam repair project and to follow emergency officials’ advice about becoming prepared for whatever it might bring. We urge the Bureau of Reclamation and local officials to be open and honest with their neighbors as the work proceeds. And we hope the siren system can be left in place--one more hedge against the risks of living in this particular corner of California.