Stop applying Herbicides in San Juan and Trabuco Creeks

Hey, Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) and OCPW—it ain't complicated.

So I recently received the following e-mail from Dori Campbell and the Creek OC Team. And instead of writing an article and mucking up the intent, I’ve decided to simply post the entirety of the message. Dori is clear, pointed and convincing. This is no small issue …

I am writing to ask if you would publicly share our correspondence with our county waterboard by imploring our local leadership to pressure the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) and OCPW to immediately stop applying Herbicides in San Juan and Trabuco Creeks. These watersheds drain into our beaches and waterways such as Doheny and other local South OC surf spots. It will be a true hazard if any of this information and toxic waterway oversight affects our beachgoers and tourism dollars funded by larger organizations such as the IOC which will hold surf competitions in our area in 2028, not to mention the thousands of families and tourist dollars that flock to our shores every year.

Our ask of the county leadership is the following:

September 2025 initial meeting request

Review reports of the recent herbicide application in the channel this past July.

• Discuss the extent of the herbicide application.

• Look at creating a more deliberative process for controlling vegetation in the flood control channel.

• Discuss notifying the public in the future when herbicide application is going to occur.

At the core of our public request is a response to eradicate herbicides while maintaining the ecological health of the channel from this email October 2025:

“The current method of control in the channel is the denuding of the entire channel of any vegetation, native or exotic. All is killed annually with blanket herbicide application. In fact, according to the County’s own work order (see LO1 Work Order- July 2025), it takes over eight tons of herbicide to kill the channel. To put that in perspective, that is roughly five fire trucks worth of herbicide sprayed over a week’s time. The County also acknowledged that they do not let the local residents know about this practice, since the channel is considered their property.

The report is extensive— over 300 pages long— with data-based recommendations on how to protect life and property, stabilize the channel from further erosion, as well as improve the ecology of the channel. I spent the weekend reviewing this report. While this report is over 20 years old, I am unable to find a report from the Army Corps of Engineers that is more recent. Moreover, after reading this report, I doubt the recommendations would be any different today since the channel is essentially the same as it was then, particularly with the channel levees.

To summarize the report: The Army Corps of Engineers repeatedly and explicitly recommends against the exact actions that the County is taking in the San Juan Flood control channel. The massive application of herbicide in the channel to denude it of any foliage is explicitly ruled out as a viable strategy and does nothing to limit flood risk in the San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point areas.”

We have requested a meeting with the local OC Public Works (OCPW) authority since September of 2025, but we have not succeeded in creating a mutual compromise to the reduction of herbicide application. Our email correspondence files are enclosed for your further review.

We have written to county leaders with grave concerns regarding the inconsistency between the county’s current course of action and the actions recommended by the Army Corps of Engineers. Our statements (in an annotated version of the email) ask for the public to be aware of ecological safety and the health of our community, wildlife and waterways.

EMAIL to OCPW dated 10/17/25

“The channel is only at 60% capacity of what would be required in a 100 year storm event. This is based off of 2002 data, so current data will be different.

• The county asserts that herbicide application does not have any real impact on the ecology of the channel. Many birds rely on the denuded nature of the channel for habitat, and allowing vegetation to grow would be detrimental to these species, such as Plovers.

• Fish, such as the steelhead and cutthroats do not require vegetation for a proper ecosystem, therefore removing vegetation does not impact these species, whether they are migrating or living in the channel.

• The County stated that they are in compliance with all state and federal laws on herbicide application, particularly around notification of the public, schools within 400 meters, and adjacent neighborhoods.

• If endangered species moved into the channel and were discovered during an audit, this could significantly impact the brush clearance in the channel, so preventing establishment is another motive for brush removal.

• The county stated they would explore alternatives to killing all brush in the channel, and perhaps allow certain areas to have foliage. This would need to be approved by Engineering and the city of San Juan Capistrano”

Petition to save San Juan Creek

Thank you for your attention and support of our future waterway health for our local Orange County Communities.