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OC Public Works says it has stopped spraying pesticides into creeks

May 15, 2026

Following months of public uproar and community organizing, Orange County has suspended the practice of spraying herbicide into creeks and flood control channels.

For now, the suspension, which began April 30, is open-ended.

Supervisor Katrina Foley said this week that OC Public Works has indefinitely halted the application of toxic chemicals in local waterways. In the meantime, Foley said, the county will observe “the growth patterns of invasive species” and decide on the safest way to remove them.

“I’ve tried for years to encourage government entities to move away from the use of toxic chemicals toward more organic approaches,” Foley said. “This issue has given us an opportunity to show that this is what the community also wants.

“We have a unique moment where we can influence other counties.”

Foley said Public Works is pausing all spraying so that it can work with state regulatory agencies to ensure the county is in full compliance with environmental and wildlife regulations. Limited herbicide usage, she said, still could be allowed on a “case-by-case basis” if Public Works identifies sites that are in “immediate need of vegetation management.”

The agency also is undergoing a third-party review of its Integrated Pest Management program, which relates to the procedures governing herbicide and pesticide use.

The announcement that pesticides wouldn’t be sprayed into local waterways followed a sustained public pressure campaign from concerned residents behind the group Creek Team OC.

In early February, Creek Team mounted a social media blitz against the practice of spraying herbicides, which they say has wrecked local ecosystems and turned the county’s once-lush creek beds barren. The group filed Public Records Requests and found that the county annually sprays “more than 100,000 gallons” of chemicals, such as glyphosate, triclopyr and imazapyr. Creek Team’s Instagram page quickly amassed more than 18,000 followers.

The public outcry, which led to a heated town hall on March 3, raised concerns about how OC Public Works manages the county’s 380 miles of flood channels, and whether crews can both mitigate flood risk and preserve natural ecosystems.

Residents also pushed back against county officials’ argument that herbicides are a necessary tool to control foliage growth in flood channels, pointing out that San Diego County allows native vegetation to grow as a way to stabilize its waterways.

At the town hall, Foley said the county had stopped spraying herbicide in San Juan and Trabuco creeks — both of which flow out to Doheny State Beach — and launched a year-long pilot program to evaluate “mechanical and manual methods” of removing vegetation. Inspectors will monitor vegetation growth in the creeks and conduct biological surveys on native and invasive species, Foley said.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in April that it launched an investigation into Public Works’ herbicide use along San Juan Creek, a development reported first by the Voice of OC. Foley said the impending probe may be one reason Public Works announced the countywide pause on herbicide application.

Creek Team founder Brent Linas said the county’s announcement is a step in the right direction, but regulatory agencies like Fish and Wildlife and the state water board also need to be held responsible for allowing Public Works crews to spray harmful toxins at a “frequency that’s inexcusable and unjustifiable.”

“We stopped the bleeding,” Linas said. “Now we need to make sure it doesn’t come back, and that the people who broke the law are held to account.”

Orange County Register

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OC Public Works says it has stopped spraying pesticides into creeks

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