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Residents along the Santa Clara River may notice an unexpected sight in the waterway in upcoming days: water flowing between its banks.
Starting today, the United Water Conservation District will release more than 65,000 acre-feet of water from Lake Piru down the Santa Clara River, said General Manager Fred Gientke.
The discharge eventually will reach the Freeman Diversion Project, where it will be channeled into water basins below the Oxnard Plain to help stop seawater intrusion, Gientke said. The
release, which is performed annually, will run through mid-November, he said.
It is the largest water release since the Santa Felicia Dam was built in 1955, partly because the county experienced above-average rainfall this year, Gientke said.
The water district was able to capture more than 73,000 acre-feet of water at its Piru, Saticoy and El Rio spreading grounds because of the heavy rainfall.
