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Water Agency In Ventura County Ordered To Do More To Help Migrating Steelhead

The United Water Conservation District's Vern Freeman Dam

A new court ruling means a water agency in Ventura County will have to do more to help endangered steelhead.

A coalition of environmental groups had sued the United Water Conservation District, charging that the Vern Freeman Dam on the Santa Clara River restricts steelhead movement between the ocean, and their habitat. A judge agreed, saying the district could be doing more, and that the lack of action violated the federal Endangered Species Act.

The ruling requires United to increase the water supply to help the fish swim the nearly 11 miles stretch of river to the ocean. It also calls for construction of a better bypass system than the existing fish ladder to enable the steelhead to get around the dam.

United Water supplies water to the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Fillmore, Santa Paula, as well as to agricultural water users in the region. It’s charged with trying to balance the water needs of the public with water needs for conservation.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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