Santa Clara River Estuary Monitoring

The VenturaWaterPure Program will reduce the amount of tertiary treated water discharged from the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility to the Santa Clara River Estuary (SCRE). This is expected to result in ecological benefits to the SCRE and its species.

Designated critical habitat and special-status species of the SCRE include: 

• Tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), federal endangered species, and designated critical habitat
• Southern California steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Distinct Population Segment (DPS), federal endangered species, and designated critical habitat
• Western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus), federal threatened species, and designated critical habitat
• California least tern (Sternula antillarum browni), federal and state endangered species
• Southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax trailii extimus) designated critical habitat
• Essential Fish Habitat and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern

To track expected beneficial changes to the SCRE, the City of Ventura established an estuary monitoring program. The monitoring program is divided into two time periods:

• Pre-Construction Assessment Program (PCAP) = baseline data collection period before discharge is reduced
• Monitoring, Assessment, and Adaptive Management Plan (MAAMP) = continued monitoring period after the discharge is reduced

The PCAP/MAAMP estuary studies document was approved by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Executive Officer on July 21, 2021. It can be downloaded via this link.