Ventura River Ranked 3rd Most Endangered

The Ventura River is among the nation’s most endangered rivers and its only hope for recovery is the removal of Matilija Dam, according to a study released today by a conservation group.

The Ventura River is ranked third in the country, behind Oregon’s Lower Snake River and the Missouri River, on a list of 13 rivers facing the most “immediate, severe environmental degradation,” according to American Rivers’ annual report of the nation’s most threatened waterways.

The only other California river to make the list is the north fork of the Feather River above Sacramento.

American Rivers, based in Washington, D.C., concludes that Matilija Dam is chiefly to blame for the Ventura River’s dwindling health.

Critics say the dam, built in 1947 for flood control, has outlived its usefulness. Designed to hold 5,000 acre-feet of water, the buildup of silt and mud has reduced its storage capacity to 500 acre-feet. An acre-foot equals 326,000 gallons, enough water to supply two average-size families for a year.

The nonprofit conservation group, founded in 1973 to raise awareness of North America’s river system, said the dam also prevents sand from washing downstream to replenish local beaches. Even worse, it blocks the migration of endangered southern steelhead trout to the sea, the group said.

County Supervisor Kathy Long said it was upsetting to learn the river is in such bad shape.

“I think it’s a sad commentary on our environmental abilities when we can’t keep something as precious as a river environmentally strong,” Long said. “I didn’t realize the river was in that poor condition. To look at it, the river is so pristine. But obviously there is a lot of trouble beneath.”

Local environmentalists, coastal businesses and fishermen have long advocated tearing down the dam. But finding the $30 million to $70 million to do it has been a problem. Long and others said the new ranking might have at least one positive effect by gaining the attention of representatives in Washington, D.C., who could allocate the necessary funds.

“The removal of the dam is going to be a huge undertaking,” said Mark Capelli, executive director of Friends of the Ventura River. “And it’s going to require support on the national level. This is the first step in getting that support. So, it’s an important recognition.”

The 16-mile river originates on the north fork of Matilija Creek in the Los Padres National Forest and winds its way to the Pacific Ocean in Ventura. Periodic flooding led to construction of the dam.

Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, called Matilija Dam a “classic example” of a dam that “doesn’t make sense.”

“It is a virtually obsolete structure that has a negative impact both ecologically and economically on the Ventura River and the surrounding communities,” Wodder said.

Work is already underway to tear down part of the dam. In January, the California Coastal Conservancy approved a $200,000 grant to Ventura County to pay for a portion of a project to knock off part of the aging structure. The project is considered a first step to the dam’s ultimate removal.

Despite the river’s poor rating, John Buse of the Ventura office of the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center said the study is helpful because it clearly outlines what the county needs to do to improve the river’s health.

“I know it’s sort of a negative thing to recognize the condition of the river,” Buse said. “But we have to know this in order to recognize what steps to take to help make it better. And we know what we have to do to make this better: Remove the dam.”

The Snake was ranked first because salmon and steelhead runs have been drastically interrupted by four dams.

The Missouri was ranked second because a series of dams and channels built over the last 70 years have altered the river, transforming it into what American Rivers called “a rock-lined barge canal and a series of slackwater reservoirs.”