Approved Goals & Objectives
At yesterday’s (December 13) Watershed Council meeting, a set of goals and objectives were approved, along with an amendment to our guiding values, that will serve as the framework for our watershed management plan.

Thanks again to all who contributed to this important work!

Here is a link to our plan’s “guiding framework” – its purpose, goals, objectives and values.

Matilija Dam Removal Update
The effort to remove Matilija Dam continues. Last week, the project’s Design Oversight Group (DOG) met to provide updates on the various planning and design tasks that are underway. The meeting was well-attended, with representatives from the cities and the county, water and sanitary districts, regulatory and resource agencies, environmental groups, and engineering consulting firms.

It was a long meeting, dense with technical information, and we can’t begin to summarize it here. But we do want Ventura River watershed stakeholders to be aware that considerable work is still occurring on the project, at least while funding lasts.

A long list of projects to accommodate expected downstream changes in the Ventura River that would occur as a result of the dam’s removal must be implemented before the dam can be removed. Projects include the redesign and improvement of two bridges to increase hydraulic capacity, improvements to the Robles Diversion and Fish Passage Facility, installation of contingency water wells, redesigning of two existing levees as well as a new levee, and other flood management measures.

The removal of Giant Reed (Arundo) and other invasive exotic plants above and below the dam was also discussed. Although this project feature is not required to be completed prior to dam removal, this work was started in 2007 thanks to a five million dollar grant from the State Water Resources Control Board. This project has been very successfully implemented, as witnessed by the numbers and variety of native animals returning to the treated areas, and ongoing treatment and monitoring is planned for many years to come.

In addition to the planning of these mitigation projects, the DOG is still grappling with the best alternative for removing the dam. The key challenge is how to manage the six million cubic yards of fine and coarse sediment that have accumulated behind the dam since its construction in the late 1940s. This issue continues to be analyzed because the methods outlined in the project’s original 2004 Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and subsequent proposed alternatives, have posed problems either because of costs or stakeholder acceptability. A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the DOG was formed last year to address data and research needs that could facilitate the resolution of the sediment management issue associated with dam removal.

The TAC reported on their work to the DOG last week. They have developed several scopes of work for consultant services, one of which is for a study that will look at feasible methods of dam removal, including options for full dam removal as well as interim notching. The options are aimed at decreasing the cost of the project while keeping within the parameters of the previously approved federal project.

The dam removal project, officially titled the “Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project,” is collaboratively managed and funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Ventura County Watershed Protection District, the California Coastal Conservancy, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. You can keep track of this project, the upcoming meetings and new documents on the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project website. The Watershed Protection District contact for this project is Peter Sheydayi, peter.sheydayi@ventura.org, 805/654-2016.

Also, if you are interested in knowing more about the conceptual alternatives that are being considered for replacement of the Santa Ana Boulevard Bridge in Oak View, the project engineers will be providing a presentation on this topic at the December 17 meeting of the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council. This meeting will be held at 7:00 pm at the Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View.