Laguna Beach officials are vying for a waterway in the city – Aliso Creek – to be included in a county-wide initiative to cut back on herbicide use in creeks.
In June, the OC Board of Supervisors officially approved a plan aimed at cutting out herbicide use in San Juan and Trabuco creeks, and seeking out alternative ways to cut down vegetation after a host of protests and petitions calling for the banning of herbicides in creeks.
The county is in charge of ensuring that creeks are clear of excess vegetation, so that they can be used for flood control.
Historically, herbicides have been used to remove the plants, but growing concerns of negative health and environmental effects has led to officials looking for alternatives.
[Read: OC Supervisors Phase Out Herbicides in San Juan and Trabuco Creeks Near Doheny State Beach]
Laguna Beach is now asking to be part of the other two creeks which are part of the county’s trial, due to the water leading directly to Aliso Beach.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted unanimously to support Mayor Mark Orgill and Councilmember Alex Rounaghi’s request that the Board of Supervisors consider adding Aliso Creek to the pilot.
“I am really committed to following the science, and I’m very interested in seeing how this pilot program works,” said Councilmember Hallie Jones at Tuesday’s meeting.
“If there’s a way that we can eradicate some of these invasive species, or control these invasive species, without the use of synthetic herbicide, I’m all for that.”
Following the support of one public commenter, the council also said that they would look at asking the Supervisors to include Laguna Beach’s only other creek – Laguna Canyon Creek – in the future.
Several members of the public also spoke their support for the initiative at Tuesday’s meeting, saying that health concerns were a major driving point.
“Just this last weekend in the Aliso Creek mouth, there was about 60 people from the public that were in that creek mouth playing, having fun, swimming around,” said resident Greg Viviani. “So obviously, the less pesticides and stuff that are coming down that creek is good.”
The city has already been implementing herbicide-free clearance of the creek, according to a staff report, finding that they had similar results to clearing vegetation with herbicides, but also noting that the process was more expensive.
In an email to Voice of OC, Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King broke down the costs.
Previously, when the city used herbicides to clear vegetation, it cost the city $528,000 per year.
In 2024, the city shifted to mechanical and manual methods, which now costs about $1.3 million annually.
In 2025, the city contracted a group to use a mechanical only approach, costing just under $7 million over 4 years, including an expansion of new zones to cover in 2027.
Health Concerns Around Herbicides
Much of the scrutiny over herbicide use comes from a common ingredient: glyphosate.
The chemical has faced repeated questions from the public over whether it can cause cancer.
For decades, products like RoundUp, which contain glyphosate, have been subject to lawsuits claiming that they do not adequately warn consumers of the potential health risks of using the product.
Despite this, the Environmental Protection Agency has stated that glyphosate is “unlikely to be a human carcinogen.”
While deemed safe for use by the EPA, the Center for Disease Control says that being exposed to large quantities of glyphosate can cause negative effects on the nose and lungs, especially workers who use large amounts of the herbicide.
Additionally, in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer run by the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
A Community Effort to Break Free from Herbicides
For over four months, a group known as Creek Team OC had been fighting for the chemicals to be cut out, citing environmental and health concerns.
Their time raising red flags led to a probe by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife into OC Public Works, due to a potential violation of Fish and Game Code in San Juan Creek.
[Read: Santana: Herbicide Use Near Doheny Beach Triggers State Probe]
Shortly after, OC Public Works announced a temporary halt on the use of herbicides in the county.
“Harmful toxins have no place in our waterways. I appreciate the Orange County Public Works team for responding to community concerns and pausing applications,” Supervisor Katrina Foley wrote in response to the county’s pause on herbicides.
At the time, many cities had already banned or slowed use of glyphosate, though a Voice of OC investigation found that there was little oversight and that many continued herbicide use regardless.
[Read: OC Residents Wrestle With Failed Promises To Restrict Chemical Herbicides]
Foley then spearheaded a pilot program, designed to phase out the use of herbicides across all waterways in the county, and direct staff to determine alternative ways to cut down excess vegetation.
In June of this year, the proposal was voted on at a OC Board of Supervisors meeting, where the year-long pilot was approved for just two creeks in OC – San Juan and Trabuco.
“I am ecstatic to see Laguna standing up and asking to be included,” Bethany Nelms, a member of Creek Team OC, wrote in an email to the Voice of OC.
“All 34 cities should be concerned and connected to the water that flows through their communities. I hope more cities do ask to be a part of this initiative and we’d gladly help them anyway we could.”
Michelle King is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood fellow. You can reach her at mcaitlin254@gmail.com.
