Orange County Public Works crews are now clearing non-native vegetation from the San Juan and Trabuco creeks, including areas near Descanso Park and San Juan Capistrano City Hall, without the use of herbicides. This change in maintenance approach addresses previous concerns regarding the use of controversial chemicals in local waterways.
Driving this operational change has been the consistent advocacy of the Creek Team, an activist group co-founded by Brent Linas, Bethany Nelms, and Robert Beard. Linas noted a distinct shift in the county agency's posture, stating, “This is an agency that wants to work with the community.” The Creek Team's efforts involved challenging OC Public Works staff directly on their arguments regarding the balance between habitat restoration and flood control. Through Public Records Act requests, activists obtained incomplete invoices that raised questions about herbicide spraying measurements. They also challenged the county's interpretation of a key Army Corps of Engineers study and identified a lack of public notification surrounding spraying activities.
The evolution of creek maintenance practices has emerged as a significant point of discussion in the Fifth District OC Board of Supervisors campaign. Incumbent Supervisor Katrina Foley has attributed the shift to her leadership, publicly stating her opposition to pesticides and herbicides in public parks, spaces, and waterways. She claimed to be leading efforts to eliminate these substances and asserted that her complaint led to contractor penalties. Foley also indicated that her involvement with this issue began during her tenure as Costa Mesa mayor in 2017. However, public records indicate Foley voted for county herbicide spraying contracts in both 2021 and 2022. Video from the 2021 meeting shows Foley accepting arguments from OC Public Works staff regarding avoidance of spraying, and she did not publicly ask questions in 2022. Email records between Foley’s staff and OC Public Works also revealed a degree of deference to department staff. In February, OC Public Works Deputy Director Amanda Carr instructed Foley’s press spokesperson via email to avoid restoration language in public communications, emphasizing that these channels are managed for flood control rather than natural restoration.
Supervisor Foley’s interactions with the Creek Team were also scrutinized. Public records show she avoided meeting with activists for several months in the Fall, prompting Linas to publicly express disappointment in February over her staff's avoidance of meeting requests. A public town hall in March, initiated by activists, reportedly highlighted Foley’s challenges in publicly confronting OC Public Works officials or advocating for residents against the bureaucracy. Following the town hall, Foley established a subcommittee to examine the issue, although the Creek Team was not appointed to the panel until recently. She subsequently appeared in an Instagram video alongside Creek Team activists. Foley also proposed a countywide ban on herbicide spraying, a motion that was not approved, with Supervisors Don Wagner, Janet Nguyen, and Doug Chaffee voting against it.
Challenger Diane Dixon has contested Foley’s narrative, highlighting Foley's 2021 and 2022 votes for spraying contracts, which occurred before the Creek Team began its awareness campaign. Activists have credited Dixon with meeting them promptly and reported her support for the Creek Team’s objectives. Dixon issued a joint public letter in May, stating her collaboration with the OC Creek Team and her meetings with stakeholders, including the County of Orange, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the OC Agricultural Commissioner, to investigate allegations of misuse. However, the source material notes it remains unclear whether Dixon’s follow-up with these regulatory agencies produced specific outcomes.
Following the rejection of Foley’s proposed countywide ban, Supervisor Don Wagner successfully motioned for a pilot project to halt herbicide spraying on the San Juan and Trabuco Creeks for a period of one year.
Public records, encompassing emails, public meeting discussions, and campaign materials, consistently indicate that sustained pressure from local activists, particularly the Creek Team, was the primary catalyst for the county's revised approach to creek maintenance.
