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Home - California Politics & News - Creek Team OC Exposes OC’s Toxic Creek Spraying as County and Labs Stonewall Tests

Creek Team OC Exposes OC’s Toxic Creek Spraying as County and Labs Stonewall Tests

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.—Under the concrete span of a San Juan Creek bridge, three members of Creek Team OC sat on folding chairs amid the mud and remains of whatever the county had sprayed upstream.

Brent Linas, the group’s founder, leaned back, readying himself to share the full story of how herbicide spraying in one of California’s top spots became an issue for the county. He described noticing the change after moving to San Juan Capistrano in 2022 from Point Loma, where the San Diego River “is full of life.” 

But at the site of the interview, he witnessed two sides of the creek: one that had life and one that was lifeless. 

“And at that point, I knew someone was spraying just a massive, massive amount of herbicide,” Linas said.

What started as one resident’s question has grown into what is now known as Creek Team OC, a small citizen group pressing Orange County Public Works, the Board of Supervisors, and other officials over herbicide applications in the county’s flood channels.

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Last year, Linas, a 41-year-old tech sales director and former military officer, took his concerns to city officials, then the county. He recounted a contentious call with Deputy Director Amanda Carr and a later in-person meeting at Descanso Park where, he said, county staff “just proceeded to gaslight me.” 

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They told him the ecosystem was healthy and he lacked the “educational pedigree” to question the program. 

“I don’t agree that you have to kill the entire channel to maximize flood prevention,” Linas said.

Carr has served as deputy director for environmental resources at Orange County Public Works since 2016,........

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