{"id":704,"date":"2026-05-15T10:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704"},"modified":"2026-05-15T10:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T10:30:17","slug":"after-public-outcry-orange-county-halts-herbicide-spraying-in-creeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704","title":{"rendered":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Three months after residents began waging a campaign<\/u> on Instagram saying they\u2019re concerned herbicides are poisoning local creeks, Orange County officials announced they are halting spraying of the chemicals, for now, in waterways throughout the county. <\/p>\n

Read more Top takeaways from final governor\u2019s debate: Knives out for Becerra<\/a><\/p>\n

Starting in February, posts by the community group Creek Team OC<\/u> sparked an outpouring of concern among residents. They posted images of workers spraying chemicals and used artificial intelligence to make illustrations featuring surfers under the slogan \u201cEndless Herbicides.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, county Supervisor Katrina Foley told residents<\/u> the county would halt spraying of herbicides in two creeks near Doheny State Beach.<\/p>\n

This week, Foley announced<\/u> that the Orange County Public Works Department had begun a \u201cpause\u201d of herbicide spraying in flood channels countywide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really pleased that Public Works is taking the community\u2019s concerns seriously,\u201d Foley said. \u201cI think anytime we can eliminate chemicals from our community, from areas where we have natural habitat, where we have people who play or swim \u2026 we should, because it just makes our community greener and healthier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brent Linas, a San Juan Capistrano resident who started the community campaign, said he and others are ecstatic that spraying has stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge, huge win for a grassroots movement that never raised a dollar and just hammered the truth,\u201d Linas said. \u201cNow, we need to make sure it doesn\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

County officials have long used the chemicals in waterways to clear out vegetation and maintain the water-carrying capacity of flood control channels.<\/p>\n

Foley said she\u2019d had many meetings with public works officials about the issue over the last couple of months.<\/p>\n

The temporary pause on spraying herbicides started April 30, she said in a written statement.<\/p>\n

Read more A former Becerra aide pleaded guilty in a fraud case. I still have questions<\/a><\/p>\n

While spraying is suspended, the Public Works Department will monitor the growth of invasive vegetation and determine how best to remove plants where necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first part is to see if it\u2019s even necessary to continue to remove vegetation as often as we are,\u201d Foley said.<\/p>\n

Foley said she has long preferred that the county avoid using the chemicals in waterways and public spaces. She said she made a complaint about the use of Roundup in the San Juan Creek flood channel about a year ago.<\/p>\n

The weedkiller has come under increasing scrutiny<\/u> as Bayer, Roundup\u2019s maker, has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the herbicide could cause cancer.<\/p>\n

Linas, a runner, started the Creek Team OC<\/u> Instagram account after noticing changes on his runs along San Juan and Trabuco creeks, where lush green reeds suddenly turned brown and lifeless, and birds disappeared. He discovered the county uses chemicals such as glyphosate, triclopyr and imazapyr.<\/p>\n

The Instagram account now has nearly 18,000 followers and has generated more than 328,000 likes, comments, saves and shares.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 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\u2019s nothing we can do about it,\u201d Linas said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t think people are going to subscribe to that anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019m really hoping we can have an awakening as Californians that these riparian habitats need to be restored and respected because they are rare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Concerns over federal funding for L.A. Olympics raised by state lawmakers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orange County officials announced they will ‘pause’ spraying herbicides in creeks across the county. The decision came after a social media campaign by residents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orange County officials announced they will 'pause' spraying herbicides in creeks across the county. The decision came after a social media campaign by residents.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"California Relocation Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121\"},\"headline\":\"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704\"},\"wordCount\":606,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Climate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704\",\"name\":\"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"DANA POINT CALFI FEBRUARY 27, 2026 -- Brent Linas walks through foliage along the Trabuco Creek where no Herbicide was sprayed on Friday, February 27, 2026. Brent Linas started a community group called The Creek Team OC to speak out on social media about how the county is using herbicides in creeks, which he says is harming the environment and posing threats to human health. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The Los Angeles Times)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?p=704#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"California Relocation Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"California Relocation Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/cj.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/cj.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"California Relocation Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/california-relocation-journal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal","og_description":"Orange County officials announced they will 'pause' spraying herbicides in creeks across the county. The decision came after a social media campaign by residents.","og_url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704","og_site_name":"California Relocation Journal","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121"},"headline":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks","datePublished":"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704"},"wordCount":606,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Climate"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704","name":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks - California Relocation Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-15T10:30:17+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/3df844ed167edf34433383496081fa14-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"DANA POINT CALFI FEBRUARY 27, 2026 -- Brent Linas walks through foliage along the Trabuco Creek where no Herbicide was sprayed on Friday, February 27, 2026. Brent Linas started a community group called The Creek Team OC to speak out on social media about how the county is using herbicides in creeks, which he says is harming the environment and posing threats to human health. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker for The Los Angeles Times)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=704#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"After public outcry, Orange County halts herbicide spraying in creeks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/","name":"California Relocation Journal","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#organization","name":"California Relocation Journal","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/cj.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/cj.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"California Relocation Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85b48ca4c2015dd056e0e9c18912121","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}