Ventura County Chapter Blue Water Task Force is pleased to help develop the next generation of scientists. Ventura High School, in partnership with Mr. Jared McEntyre's Advanced Placement Environmental Study classes and the State Water Quality Board's Stream Team program, is working to add to the body of working knowledge about the health of the Ventura River. Students have worked diligently to provide a comprehensive report for the Lower Ventura River Watershed, which you can read below.
In 2012, the State Water Quality Board designated the Ventura River as impaired under the Clean Water Act section 303 d. A pollution budget, or a Total Maximum Daily Load set of guidelines, was established for the maximum amount of trash, algae, and nutrients the river could withstand and still be healthy under national clean water standards.
The students' conclusions are their own, but reveal ongoing concerns with the levels of dissolved oxygen that can help or harm the overall riparian ecosystem of the Ventura River, which the city of Ventura relies on for clean drinking water.
Read Ventura High School's Fall 2025 Lower Ventura River Watershed Report