After residents organized an Instagram campaign alleging herbicides were harming local waterways, Orange County officials announced they’re pausing herbicide spraying in flood channels countywide while crews monitor vegetation and consider alternatives.
Three months after residents began rallying online over fears that herbicides were poisoning local creeks, Orange County has moved to halt the chemical spraying—at least for now.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said this week that the county’s Public Works Department has begun a “pause” of herbicide spraying in flood channels across the county.. The decision follows months of complaints. including a campaign organized through Creek Team OC. an Instagram effort that drew attention after members posted images of workers spraying chemicals and shared AI-generated illustrations with the slogan “Endless Herbicides.”
“I’m really pleased that Public Works is taking the community’s concerns seriously,” Foley said.. “I think anytime we can eliminate chemicals from our community. from areas where we have natural habitat. where we have people who play or swim … we should. because it just makes our community greener and healthier.”
Foley had previously told residents the county would stop spraying herbicides in two creeks near Doheny State Beach in March. She said the temporary pause on spraying began April 30, according to a written statement.
County officials have long used herbicides in waterways to clear out vegetation and maintain water-carrying capacity in flood control channels. During the pause, Foley said Public Works will monitor invasive plant growth and determine how best to remove vegetation where necessary.
“The first part is to see if it’s even necessary to continue to remove vegetation as often as we are,” Foley said.
Brent Linas, a San Juan Capistrano resident who helped start the campaign, said he and others were celebrating what he described as a turning point.
“It’s a huge, huge win for a grassroots movement that never raised a dollar and just hammered the truth,” Linas said. “Now, we need to make sure it doesn’t come back.”
Foley said she has held multiple meetings with Public Works officials over the past couple of months.. She added that she has long preferred the county avoid using herbicides in waterways and public spaces. and that she filed a complaint about the use of Roundup in the San Juan Creek flood channel about a year ago.
The community campaign intensified as the weedkiller drew national scrutiny. Bayer, the maker of Roundup, has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people the herbicide could cause cancer.
Linas said he launched Creek Team OC after he noticed changes on his runs along San Juan and Trabuco creeks, where lush green reeds turned brown and lifeless and birds disappeared. He said he later learned the county uses chemicals including glyphosate, triclopyr, and imazapyr.
The Instagram account has grown to nearly 18,000 followers and, according to Foley’s recounting of the campaign’s reach, has generated more than 328,000 likes, comments, saves and shares.
“What I ultimately hope for in the end here is that people in Southern California need to stop looking at these rivers as. like. conveyors of pollution. that look. there are these concrete masses that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers built. and there’s nothing we can do about it. ” Linas said.. “I just don’t think people are going to subscribe to that anymore,” he said.. “So I’m really hoping we can have an awakening as Californians that these riparian habitats need to be restored and respected because they are rare.”
Orange County herbicide spraying flood control channels Katrina Foley Creek Team OC Roundup glyphosate triclopyr imazapyr Doheny State Beach San Juan Creek Trabuco Creek environmental controversy