Under the direction of Friar Cambon, whom Serra left in charge of the new mission, a system of aqueducts were built by the Chumash people between 1805–1815 to meet the needs of the Mission population and consisted of both ditches and elevated stone masonry. The watercourse ran from a point on the Ventura River about ½ mile north of the remaining ruins and carried the water to holding tanks behind the mission, a total of about . With plentiful water, the mission was able to maintain flourishing orchards and gardens, which were described by |English navigator George Vancouver as the finest he had seen. The water distribution system was damaged by floods and abandoned in 1862.