Our December rainstorms deposited large piles of arundo donax from our riverbeds at the Rincon Parkway Day Use section. The arundo trapped excessive amounts of styrofoam chunks. We filled almost 8 large bags of beaded pieces that shoreline birds mistake for eggs, filling their stomachs with toxins. Thanks to the 17 volunteers who picked through the arundo to save our avian wildlife at the beach.
Join us at RRP the second Saturday of February!
We had about 20 volunteers remove 520 pounds of trash from the Ormond lagoon at our January 17th cleanup. We picked up lots of bottle caps, styrofoam plates, and other small pieces of plastic trash, along with a tire and a small futon.
See you next month at Ormond!
Does this ginormous drainpipe look like a heart to you? It does to us, because we LOVE cleaning up our beaches! On January 24th at the Ventura Promenade (C St.), 146 community volunteers found plenty of trash that washed down the river onto the beach after the storms in December. A whopping 309 pounds of trash & recycling + 1,250 cigarette butts were hauled off the sand and promenade, protecting humans and wildlife. Thanks to everyone who came out on this beautiful day!🌊
Join us next month at C St!
Ocean water quality at our favorite beaches finally reached low-risk levels for entry on the third Thursday of January. Low risk diminishes contracting a waterborne illness after our big storm events in December, when stormwater pollution sent high levels of bacteria into the ocean.
Note that our drains to the ocean, as well as the Ventura Rivermouth, still indicate high levels of bacteria. Stay at least 50 feet away from drains to the ocean to reduce your risk of contact with bacteria.
The city of Ventura has completed the sewer construction at the bike path at the San Jon drain, but Harbor Cove is now being dredged. When the seafloor is disrupted, bacteria that has been at rest may get stirred back into the water and change water quality results.
Check our water quality results on Fridays at @surfridervc on Instagram, Ventura County Chapter Surfrider Foundation on Facebook, or on our BWTF webpage!