Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This drone video examines the sedimentary impact of the Matilija Dam on our local beaches. The dam is at a narrows in the upper Ventura River watershed about 16 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Constructed in 1947 by the Ventura County Flood Control District for water supply and flood control, it quickly became obsolete due to rapid sedimentation, a problem that early dam designers had accurately predicted. Today, the nonfunctional dam traps approximately 9 million cubic yards (7,000,000 cubic meters) of silt, gravel, and cobble that would naturally flow downstream to replenish the coast. By cutting off this vital sediment delivery by an estimated 50% to 75%, the dam has starved the lower Santa Barbara Littoral Cell, making it an important contributor to the erosion and shrinking of downstream coastal areas like the Ventura River Delta, Emma Wood State Beach, and Surfers Point.
This was filmed on June 4, 2026.
This drone video examines the sedimentary impact of the Matilija Dam on our local beaches. The dam is at a narrows in the upper Ventura River watershed about 16 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Constructed in 1947 by the Ventura County Flood Control District for water supply and flood control, it quickly became obsolete due to rapid sedimentation, a problem that early dam designers had accurately predicted. Today, the nonfunctional dam traps approximately 9 million cubic yards (7,000,000 cubic meters) of silt, gravel, and cobble that would naturally flow downstream to replenish the coast. By cutting off this vital sediment delivery by an estimated 50% to 75%, the dam has starved the lower Santa Barbara Littoral Cell, making it an important contributor to the erosion and shrinking of downstream coastal areas like the Ventura River Delta, Emma Wood State Beach, and Surfers Point.
This was filmed on June 4, 2026.
