Support CINC And Clean Water At The City Council!

Citizens Journal Staff

The Marine Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Channel Islands Neighborhood Council has been asked to make a presentation to the Oxnard Mayor and City Council on May 17, 2022.

The meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and our presentation is sometime early in the meeting.

Please plan to join us in City Council Chambers at 305 West Third Street, Oxnard wearing blue to symbolize our support for clean, swimmable water in our harbor for all Oxnard citizens.

City Council meetings are also televised live over local cable TV on Spectrum Cable (Channel 10) and Frontier Communications (Channel 35) and re-broadcast each weekday beginning at 10:00 a.m. They are also streamed live on the city’s website and on YouTube.

DID YOU KNOW?
MAC members have been collecting water samples in our harbor and have learned some key information about the quality of the water.

Three key areas of concern have emerged:

1. Elevated bacteria levels make swimming and water activities unsafe.

• Bacteria levels as high as 19,863 MPN. have been discovered when the State level for safety is less than 104. MPN refers to the “Most Probable Number” of colony forming units per 100 mL of seawater.

2. Diminished dissolved oxygen levels can be fatal to fish and other sea life.

• Remote sensors in our harbor collect data on the level of dissolved oxygen in the water.  The MAC team has been monitoring these readings for over three years.
• A seasonal pattern has emerged in our harbor in late Summer where dissolved oxygen levels in the water drops below five ppm (parts per million).  Environmental scientists have found that marine life struggles to breathe when levels drop below this threshold.

3. Toxins in the harbor are harmful to aquatic life and may impact the food chain.  

• Samples taken in the harbor last December using small shellfish as a toxicity “canary in the coal mine” revealed that in 4 of the 9 sites sampled, a portion of the shellfish did not survive.  At one site 90% died in 7 days. This demonstrates extremely high levels of toxicity in our water at certain times which will require continuous monitoring.

The Channel Islands Neighborhood Council is an all-volunteer organization representing the waterfront communities of Mandalay Bay, Harbour Island, Westport, and Seabridge. The Neighborhood Council program was created by the Oxnard City Council to effectively involve members of our communities in our local government decision making process.