VCPWA extends community voting to help rename two District channels until June 22

The Ventura County Watershed Protection District (District) is seeking community input to rename two District facilities. The Oxnard Industrial Drain extends approximately 4 miles from Wooley Road to the outlet near Ormond Beach. The J Street Drain extends over 2 miles from Redwood Street to the Ormond Beach Lagoon. This project offers the public of all ages a unique opportunity to make history in the County by renaming two Ventura County channels that pass through the City of Oxnard.

A committee of local stakeholders reviewed new name suggestions that were submitted from community members and selected 6 new name options for each of these two District facilities. The Committee was careful to consider the historical, cultural, and ecological connections between these facilities and the Ormond Beach Wetlands.

The District invites you to use your local social media power to share this renaming opportunity throughout the County; contestants will be able to find more information and posts to share at VCPWA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VCPWA. The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite name for each facility with an extended voting date now through June 22, 2015.

The word “drain” in the original facility names refers to their flood protection function to carry stormwater from the Oxnard Plain to the Ocean during storm events. Unfortunately, some people unaware of the connection to sensitive habitats have thrown trash and debris into the channels, creating issues downstream. Watersheds should only shed water, not trash and other pollutants. Both channels flow to the Ormond Beach and Wetlands – a 1,500‐acre area comprised of agriculture, industry, and wetlands – that serve as a home to more than 200 migratory bird species. The habitat is recorded as having more shorebird species than any other site in Ventura County and has been recognized as the most important wetland restoration opportunity in Southern California.

“The goals of renaming these channels are to enhance watershed awareness, connect urban communities to the natural environment; and highlight the historical; environmental; and cultural significance of the communities that surround these channels,” explains, Tully Clifford, Director of VCPWA WPD.

So far over 150 votes have been casted for the J Street Drain name to be Chumash Creek. Over 350 children learned about their connection to the natural environment and voted on new names for these two facilities during the Ventura County Public Works Agency’s National Public Works Week Activities. Many were amazed that they were allowed to vote and that their vote actually counted.

Contestants can find more information and posts to share at the Ventura County Public Works Agency Facebook page. Again, everyone is encouraged to vote for their favorite name for each facility, using Facebook or an online survey. The public can vote for its favorite name for each facility on VCPWA’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VCPWA (leave a comment or send a private message) or on our online survey at http://vcwatershed.org/surveys.

The name options are as follows:

Oxnard Industrial Drain

1. Ormond Lagoon Waterway

2. Tomol Creek

3. Tomol Lagoon Waterway

4. Primrose Waterway

5. Ormond Channel

6. walap̓mu

J Street Drain

1. Goby Creek

2. Hueneme Arroyo

3. Plover Waterway

4. Chumash Creek

5. Ormond Arroyo

6. ponom