Dear City of Camarillo Council Members,
I would like to address the importance of ensuring the safest water for our city. The main water sources for the City of Camarillo is through imported water from other areas and from groundwater that is stored locally and then treated. My concern is for the amount of pollutants entering our groundwater due to agriculture. Camarillo has large agricultural areas that use fertilizers and pesticides. These pollutants can cause negative health effects to the community. From a water quality report in 2024 by the City of Camarillo it states that “The sources have been determined to be vulnerable to contaminants associated with agricultural drainage and irrigation wells. ”
Pesticides can be harmful not only to the runoff and water supply but the application can be extremely dangerous for the farmers who are applying them to the land. The applicant is at risk even with mild exposure that can lead to respiratory issues or skin conditions. The nitrogen and phosphorus from the pesticides also destroy nearby ecosystems and can lead to soil erosion. Nitrogen and phosphorus cause oxygen depletion in water which creates dead zones, harming aquatic life.
Any steps the city can take to try our best to provide the safest water for our community should be taken. If we are able to switch to alternative organic pesticides and ensure fertilizers are placed only in amounts that will minimize the pollutants being washed into the runoff could be beneficial. In the article, Sources and Solutions: Agriculture, it lists some ways to limit the water pollutants by ensuring ground cover year round, planting shrubs along edges of the fields, and applying nutrients at specific times and in specific amounts to limit excess pollutants entering the groundwater. If the agricultural lands also switched to organic fertilizers and pesticides it could greatly benefit the overall public health.
Thank you for your time,
Katelyn Ochoa
Work Cited
“Annual Water Quality Report Reporting Year 2024. ” The City of Camarillo.
Megli, Dawn, and [email protected]. “Study Worries about Residents’ Proximity to Crop Pesticides. ” The.Acorn.‗.Serving.Agoura.Hills? .Calabasas? .Oak.Park.™ .Westlake.Village, The Acorn, 8 Apr. 2022, www.theacorn.com/articles/study-worries-about-residents-proximity- to-crop-pesticides/. Accessed 12 May 2026.
“Organic, Natural, and Less Toxic: What’s the Difference? | Pests in the Urban Landscape. ” UC.Agriculture.and.Natural.Resources, 23 Apr. 2025, ucanr.edu/blog/pests-urban- landscape/article/organic-natural-and-less-toxic-whats-difference. “Welcome to Camarillo, CA. ” Cityofcamarillo¡org, 2025, www.cityofcamarillo.org/departments/public_works/water_conservation_2/index.php.
Accessed 12 May 2026.