Removal of Matilija Dam
Re “Dam Removal Gets Boost From Report of Ventura River Threat,” April 11.
Anyone who reads this paper is aware of the problems surrounding the Ventura River because of the Matilija Dam. The solution is pretty simple but lost somewhere in the bureaucratic shuffle.
A win-win solution would be to tear down the dam and make a fish habitat with the material along the coast in the form of an artificial reef.
I believe we have the ability to do it for a lot less money than what is proposed. We have the Navy Construction Battalion (Seabee) base right here in our backyard that could use the dam removal as a training exercise. For years I’ve watched the Seabees move a pile of dirt from one side of the base to the other. Why not let them use their expertise to dismantle the dam and use the Navy’s tugs and barges to make an artificial reef a mile or two off the coast?
The Seabees would get some important training, the fishermen would get a local reef to fish and the Ventura River might once again flow free the way the good Lord intended it to.
Just a thought.
MIKE McGARRY
Oxnard
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