Winter Newsletter 2011 Volume 18, Number 4
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Coordinating A Watershed by OVLC’s Ventura River Watershed Coordinator, Lorraine Walter Blank stares. That’s what I get when I tell people I’m a watershed coordinator. The job title even stumped staff at the California Regional Water Quality Control Board this week when I called. The staff person interrogated me for several minutes about what a watershed coordinator does, and then his final question was, “Why?” It’s a fair question. There are two mysteries involved: watershed being one; coordinator the other. Let’s start with watershed. It is an unfortunate term, that is, until you realize the next best term is catchment basin. I’d rather not have to describe myself as a catchment basin coordinator—too many syllables, so we’ll have to get along with watershed. What is a watershed? Well, it is a water catchment basin. It is an area wherein all the water that falls is inclined to drain to- Home school group jump starts the new Adopt-A-Meadow Program on the Ojai Meadows Prewards a central water body—in our case, serve. See page 3 for details. All groups welcome: HOAs, Schools, Bridge Clubs, artists... the Ventura River and then on towards systems. When we established our city boundOjai Valley Land Conservancy the Pacific Ocean. Your bathtub is a small watershed, bordered by an enamel rim. aries, however, and our water district P.O. Box 1092 • Ojai, CA 93024 The Ventura River Watershed is a large boundaries, and when we wrote our 370 W. Baldwin Rd. A-4 watershed, bordered by high mountains regulations for flood control, stormwater Tel. 805.649.6852 • Fax 649.8913 info@ovlc.org which include Nordhoff Ridge and White management, water conservation, clean water protection, habitat protection, and Ledge Peak. We have a term for watersheds because especially land use, we did not have this the systems within them are interrelated watershed view in mind. Board of Directors Here’s an example: Paving over perviin basic and important ways. Changes or impacts to one part of a watershed ripple ous soil, say with a large parking lot, re- Roger Essick, President sults in less recharge of groundwater aqui- Larry Rose, Vice President through and affect other parts. The Matilija Dam offers a good illus- fers, increases storm flows, and increases Stefanie Coeler, Secretary Cari Guerrero, Treasurer tration of this interconnectedness. A dam contaminants in runoff; less groundwater Jesse Grantham erected to address a water supply con- recharge means more surface water (Lake Mary Bergen Margot Griswold Brian Holly cern had the unintended consequence of Casitas) withdrawals, making us more Don Reed starving local beaches of sand and erod- vulnerable to water shortfalls, especially Allan Jacobs ing beach property. We’ve learned a lot in droughts; increased storm flows can Cricket Twichell Nathan Wallace about how important natural sediment increase streambank erosion and cause Barbara Washburn Deborah Whorf transport is, not just to beaches but to the flood damage; more contaminants in waStaff ecology of the river, to the shape of the ter threatens the quality of water we use Greg Gamble, Executive Director river’s channel, and to the river’s response for drinking or irrigating our crops. All of Rick Bisaccia, Preserve Manager these potential impacts to water systems Todd Bertola, Restoration Technician to floods. The watershed view is one that pulls can result from pavement, yet the regula- Lauren Coyne, Restoration Technician back and looks at the whole water system. tions that dictate where and how much Brad Meiners, Restoration Technician It is a view that acknowledges how criti- pavement exists in a community are not Darcy Gamble, Development Director cal water is to our lives, how powerfully in the water code; they are in the land use Marti Reid, Office Manager it can affect our lives, and thus how care- and transportation codes. Brian Stark, Conservation Director continued on page 2... Lorraine Walter, Watershed Coordinator ful we must be with alterations to water
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