Ventura County Dam Safety*

Conclusions 1

• CL1
  Conclusion (C-02): The Grand Jury concluded that VCWPD has identified structural issues regarding the Matilija Dam. The district is working to remove the dam. Pending obtaining funding and final approval of required environmental clearances, the dam may continue to be a threat. (FA-07, FA-08, FA-09) Response: VCWPD agrees with this conclusion. Conclusion (C-08): The Grand Jury concluded there does not appear to be any effort by the dam owners or the OES to educate the public as to potential inundation areas, evacuation routes, or what to do in the event of a dam failure. (FA-14, FA-15, FA-16, FA-17, FA-18) Response: VCWPD disagrees partially with this conclusion. VCWPD provides the Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services (OES) all hazard preparedness information, enabling OES to convey related information to Ventura County communities. This information is accessible via community meetings and the ReadyVenturaCounty website. This includes dam hazard preparedness information and dam inundation maps. Conclusion (C-10): The Grand Jury concluded that while inspections are required by the DSOD, there is no local monitoring or public awareness as to the status of the dams and the actions taken by their owners to improve their reliability and safety. (F-01, F-02, F-03, F-04, F-05, F-06) Response: VCWPD wholly disagrees with this conclusion. VCWPD conducts annual pre-winter inspection of all of its dams and also inspects dams during and after each storm. Dams are also inspected if they are within predefined radius of an earthquake. Quarterly monitoring and surveys for any movement of Matilija Dam are also conducted. In addition, the VCWPD Flood Warning System provides predictive and real time storm flow data throughout the County watersheds and specifically for the Matilija Dam area to include: Matilija Creek, North Fork Matilija Creek and at the dam during all storm events.