VENTURA : State to Contribute $75,000 for Dredging

Silt that built up in the Ventura Keys during February rainstorms has qualified the waterfront community to receive $75,000 in state funding to help with dredging, Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) has announced.

But the funding, to be included in next year’s budget, will pay for only a small portion of the cost to clean the clogged waterways, a problem that developed over a number of years. City engineers have estimated those costs at $2.9 million.

Property owners in the Keys development, where residents have private docks in waterways that open into the ocean, will pay three-quarters of the cost through an assessment district. The city of Ventura will pay the remaining amount.

Residents of the Keys have filed a lawsuit challenging the assessment district, saying that the city and county should pay for the cleanup because runoff from the Arundell Barranca is responsible for the silting.