VENTURA, CA - "Beauty," a new awareness campaign by the Ventura County Community for a Clean Watershed, will get underway next week. Designed to celebrate the natural beauty of Ventura County, it also reminds residents that we must all do our part to keep our local streams and creeks clean of pollution. The Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program, made up of the County of Ventura, the 10 Ventura County cities and the Ventura County Watershed Protection District, is funding the campaign.

"We are fortunate to live in such a pretty part of California," says Arne Anselm, Ventura County water quality monitoring manager. "One way to keep Ventura County beautiful is to ensure our system of natural waterways is kept clean. Everything that flows into our neighborhood storm drains from our yards, driveways, streets and sidewalks travels through the county watershed systems of creeks and rivers and eventually ends up in the ocean. Any polluted surface runoff degrades creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands and can cause health problems for people and wildlife."

Residents will soon see the campaign's 30-second commercials on local cable stations and radio stations. "They will remind everyone of the special place we live in and the need to take a proactive approach to keeping it special--particularly when it comes to our watersheds," says Anselm. "In addition, the more residents get involved, the fewer government resources will need to be devoted to watershed cleanup."

The footage was shot using a quadcopter, a small, remote-controlled, four-engine vehicle. A high definition camera was mounted to the quadcopter with the pilot flying the vehicle using controls and a monitor on the ground. Filming locations included the Los Padres National Forest, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Conejo Grade, Camarillo's Village at the Park, the Ventura River and along the beach.

The campaign directs residents to the redesigned Ventura County Watersheds website (www.cleanwatershed.org), which shows residents some simple actions that can make a big difference. They include repairing automobile oil leaks, using biodegradable products for landscaping and car washing, bagging or mulching lawn clippings so they will not wash into nearby storm drains, disposing of pet waste properly, taking unwanted hazardous waste (i.e. oil, anti-freeze, paint, pesticides) to a proper disposal facility and reducing the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides in yards and gardens. Visitors to the site can download brochures about watershed-friendly car, home and pet care, as well as brochures, posters and best management practices for businesses. Information on watershed protection will also be available at upcoming city-sponsored Earth Day events.

The Ventura County Community for a Clean Watershed program was established to help residents understand how to respect and protect our watersheds. It is funded by the Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program, which includes the Cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Simi Valley, Santa Paula, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, the County of Ventura and the Ventura County Watershed Protection District. These partners work together to improve stormwater quality, monitor the health of our watersheds and meet the compliance requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stormwater permit for Ventura County adopted by the state under the Clean Water Act.