Where is it?

This site is located at the downstream end of Canada Larga, before the confluence with the main stem of the Ventura River. To get there, exit Highway 33 at Canada Larga Rd
and head West (left if you are heading up the 33 towards Ojai). Turn left again onto Ventura Avenue. Stay on Ventura Ave. for approximately 1/4 mile, and you will cross a
small bridge over the creek. Immediately after the bridge, you can turn right and park
in a small dirt pullout next to the creek. Just above our sampling site, the creek flows
through a concrete channel. Walk carefully down the bank and sample just downstream of the road bridge, in the natural stream channel.

What is unique about this site?

Canada Larga is a seasonal creek that only flows during the rainy season. It flows through the heavily grazed, hilly area just to the East of Highway 33. This is our lowermost site on Canada Larga; Site 5 is further up in the hills in the middle of the grazed areas. Cattle grazing has major impacts on the water quality of this creek, as does the industrial zone near this location.

Results at this site

Results here (and our other Canada Larga site) usually vary tremendously from our other sites, due to the upstream cattle grazing. The most noticeable differences are seen in turbidity and bacteria. There are obvious reasons for high bacteria levels: grazing cows means pooping cows, and poop means bacteria. During and after storms, Canada Larga often has the highest bacteria levels of all of our sites. Turbidity is also extremely high during and after storms– again, this is caused by grazing: cattle eat the grass and roots that hold the soil in place. Therefore, when it rains the soil is easily washed into the creek. Turbidity levels are often so high in this creek that they are out of the range of our meters, or greater than 1100 NTU. Keep in mind that at most sites, normal readings are around 0-5 NTU.