Ventura River Project/Cachuma Project

Historic Resource Inventory and Evaluation Report

JRP prepared Historic Resources Inventory and Evaluation Reports for Ventura River Project in Ventura County and Cachuma Project in Santa Barbara County for compliance with National Historic Preservation Act Section 110.  These water supply projects, built by the US Bureau of Reclamation in the 1950s, each feature a primary impounding dam and an accompanying water conveyance system.  Additionally, Cachuma Project includes approximately 6-mile long Tecolote Tunnel to deliver water impounded by Bradbury Dam through the Santa Ynez Mountains to South Coast Conduit, a 26-mile water conveyance system between Goleta and Carpinteria.  Tecolote Tunnel gained notoriety among contractors, workers, and engineers in the early 1950s because of extremely challenging conditions caused by gas explosions that released flows of hot water into the tunnel that reached temperatures of 112° F.  The wet, hot conditions in the tunnel were captured by a professional photographer and published in Life magazine in 1954.  Ventura River Project includes Robles Diversion Dam to divert Ventura River water into Lake Casitas to supplement Coyote Creek water impounded by Casitas Dam.  The distribution system for Ventura River Project consists of a series of pumping plants and tank reservoirs that move water throughout the hilly service area.  The study area for Ventura River Project also included a Ventura County Landmark, the Selby-Roberts House, a Tudor Revival residence built in 1919 and remodeled in 1923 by locally noted Ojai architect Austen Pierpont.