Port Hueneme-- The City Council, Monday, July 18, approved a Coastal Development Permit for the Bubbling Springs Vegetation Removal Project.
The permit allows the periodic removal of nonnative vegetation overgrowth from Bubbling Springs Natural Channel between Bard Road and the J Street Pump Station for about 40 workdays yearly.
Non-native vegetation, including cattails (Typha angustifolia and T. latifolia) and bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus), spans the Channel’s width, limiting the designed drainage capacity and ability to contain flood flows.
The agreement proposes using no herbicides.
Rincon Consultants Senior Planner Jerry Hittleman said the project spans 1.75 miles through the city, starts at Bard Road within the Bubbling Springs Recreation greenbelt, extends to the J Street Pump Station, and serves as an online drainage channel.
“It goes through the City to the ocean, and part of it is part of the Coastal Zone,” he said. “The Channel, right now, is overgrown with nonnative vegetation, primarily consisting of cattails and bulrushes. This vegetation reaches a height of 10 feet, and the density spans the whole width of the Channel in some cases.”
He noted that the vegetation limits the capacity and ability to contain floods.
“Vegetation removal must occur to maintain the Channel’s…
