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Hot Spring Tubs
updated: Jul 16, 2012, 12:43 PM

By Edhat Subscriber

Now that the Santa Barbara Land Trust officially owns and has made public the Hot Springs Canyon trail - why is it that the hot tubs are still being torn down?

My guess is that it is the land-owners below who are tearing down the hot tubs to make sure they get as much of the precious free water that they can to keep their very un-natural massive lawns of grass watered.

Can't we do something to keep the hot tubs in place?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 298085	2012-07-16 12:52 PM
I bet to minimize the fire danger by people hanging out there and drinking rather than just hiking through.
COMMENT 298087	2012-07-16 12:58 PM
I ave no idea what you are talking about.
COMMENT 298095	2012-07-16 01:15 PM
Probably also to minimize their legal liability at the hands of the irresponsible, a la the tea gardens.
COMMENT 298097	2012-07-16 01:17 PM
What hot tubs? Are they legally built? If no then there's your answer.
COMMENT 298098	2012-07-16 01:18 PM
It is not a case of it being a fire danger - it is the landowners tearing down the hot tubs. People tap into the pipes that are used to get the water to the houses below to water their massive lawns. When people crack open the pipes, the water pressure is reduced, forcing the homeowners to pay for municipal water. They want the free water - so they send up their workers to tear down the hot tubs. I understand the very wealthy homeowners wanting their free water, as I also understand the people who are now allowed to use the public space to want to enjoy a soak. We need a solution to appease both sides.
COMMENT 298099	2012-07-16 01:18 PM
Geothermal springs bring up natural mercury deposits that our area has in abundance.
COMMENT 298101	2012-07-16 01:28 PM
Not sure how the wealth of the homeowners below comes into this. Illegally breaking water lines to make a hot tub is not anyone's right. It's the land trust that is monitoring the hills and removing illegal hot tubs. We have a solution to appease both sides 098 it's called the law. Tampering with those water pipes is a crime. End of story.
COMMENT 298108	2012-07-16 01:57 PM
I can't believe that Montecitoians are watering their lawns with high TDS geothermal spring water. In this case it is not like applying Arrowhead spring water. If they are, the salt buildup must be tremendous. Salt buildup due to irrigation is what caused the Mayan culture to collapse. I hope this doesn't happen to Montecito!
COMMENT 298110	2012-07-16 02:01 PM
Do you honestly think homeowners that live in Montecito are having people tear down hot tubs so they can get free water? lol. Oh boy, and it's only Monday.
COMMENT 298111	2012-07-16 02:03 PM
As I was informed by people involved with the transaction, according to the water rights, the homeowners are supposed to be collecting the water below the creek's fork - not at the source. So they are breaking the law/agreement... @101 - wondering how/why you believe it's the Land Trust tearing down the hot tubs. Fact or opinion? I was told by a realtor involved in the transaction that it was the homeowners staff tearing down the tubs (prior to the transaction.) A solution would be to install pipes at the source specifically for the hot tubs.
COMMENT 298125	2012-07-16 02:32 PM
298108 - Yes, I can just see it now...Oprah Winfrey drops dead of shame after her well-manicured lawn turns brown.
COMMENT 298137	2012-07-16 03:04 PM
Landtrust removing illegal hot tubs - fact. You really think rich homeowners are hiking up into the hills to destroy hot tubs?
COMMENT 298145	2012-07-16 03:11 PM
I bet if non-profit Landtrust now owns the land, some attorney has advised their board to remove natural hot springs bathing sites to minimize accidents and subsequent law suits. Were we all better off before the Land Trust?
COMMENT 298155P	2012-07-16 03:25 PM
Some time ago I was hiking up there with my children. There were people in the "hot tubs" without clothes enjoying each other and their alcoholic beverages.. Wonderful thing to have to explain to small children. If you want to do that buy a hot tub and do it at home. I'm all for these things being removed.
COMMENT 298169	2012-07-16 03:37 PM
@155 - some time ago.... hmmm, were you trespassing???
COMMENT 298178	2012-07-16 03:59 PM
The 1898 water rights stipulate ONLY 50% of the water and the water was to be gathered below the old hotel at a place known as "the forks". Land Trust for Santa Barbara County and the USFS wants to play a game with the springs and destroy Santa Barbara's mineral water legacy. The mineral waters drove early America's tourism and settlement here. The land was never under threat of development. the land was known as an white elephant. The land was purchased for way more then it's assessed value. For over 10,000 years people freely accessed the medicinal benefit of these springs including the hotel era of around 1860-1964. It was from around 1970 onward people were criminalized for accessing the springs when Montecito Creek Water Company moved forward and capped the springs.
COMMENT 298181	2012-07-16 04:09 PM
42 years, seems like long enough for you to realize breaking those pipes is criminal. no?
COMMENT 298186P	2012-07-16 04:22 PM
At what point does it stop being criminal and start to be historical? Sad that these agencies are fighting to destroy something the locals have enjoyed for over two hundred years just because.
COMMENT 298188P	2012-07-16 04:23 PM
Make that 42 years...still...
COMMENT 298200	2012-07-16 04:32 PM
ugh, the old we've been doing it forever argument. rape and pillage is historical, been going on for years. At what point do we just say bring on the rape and pillage, it's old timey the locals love it!
COMMENT 298203	2012-07-16 04:39 PM
The locals have enjoyed the springs for 10,000 years FACT. There is more crime occurring on USFS land then private land FACT. The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County owns and manages way more acreage then the 462 acres adjacent to city owned Gould's park. FACT. Land Trust for Santa Barbara County did not offer the land to the city nor the county nor the state or even more importantly to the Chumash, who would have gladly agreed that their would be no development. FACT. Land Trust for Santa Barbara County could have worked with the community to keep access available in a safe and sane manner. FACT.
COMMENT 298206	2012-07-16 04:49 PM
I love it.... let's get together and demonstrate our right to a freed ride, to freeload, to demand something for nothing or at least at someone else's expense. When trespassing on private property is not enforced enjoy the privilege as long as you can 'coz the next landowners may not be so easily pushed over. Or go to court and file claim for an easement.
COMMENT 298209	2012-07-16 05:00 PM
Most importantly 203, breaking those water pipes is a crime - FACT
COMMENT 298213	2012-07-16 05:12 PM
Thank you for drawing attention to this issue. Clearly there is more than enough hot spring water to serve everyone. It does not take much hot spring water to fill the small pools that people have been enjoying for the decades that I have lived here. For many years there was a setup with a small tap and a valve to fill the small pools. Even if it were left open, it would still leave most of the water in the pipe to Montecito. And with a valve it was easy to turn off the flow when you were done. Hundreds if not thousands of years of history of these unique bathing pools indeed needs to be maintained for current and future generations. There is more than enough hot spring water for everyone if we just learn again to share.
COMMENT 298214	2012-07-16 05:15 PM
Unless God is a real estate agent no one has the right to divide and sell land. Give it back to the Chumash. Wilbur Curtis obtained the springs by land fraud anyway. The water that is being taken above and beyond its water rights are strictly being used to water lawns it is non potable. 39 shareholders could be real conservationists and allow the water to return to streamflow and allow the fish to return to Montecito Creek which is an important watershed for steelhead recovery but no.... Land Trust nor the donors have no heart or concern for the environment. And the USFS will prove that they have no concern for the people or the environment either. This is all for the benefit of the 1%. Nothing ever changes.
MESARATS	2012-07-16 06:17 PM
In the 70's my friend and I were hiking by the ruins of the old resort and got pretty excited when we noticed a warm pipe. My friend Greg had the idea to tap into it so the next day we went back with tools, parts and a sheet of plastic. We found a good place to make a rock tub, and he made a barely noticeable access. Each time we went we took a pipe wrench and plastic, would line and fill the tub, close the pipe and wait for it to get cool enough to get in. It was great fun to go there on a full moon and if we didn't have a car we would take our boards and skate back. It got too crowded so I haven't gone there in many years, but imagine the statute of limitations has expired on any crimes committed.
COMMENT 298232	2012-07-16 06:35 PM
There is more then plenty enough of the hot springs to share with the community and Montecito Creek Water Company considering they are only entitled to 50% of the water. The irony is that Sawyer worked out the agreement because downstream neighbors had been siphoning or drawing off creek water for years before those 1897 water rights were finalized. In other words it would have never happened if others were respecting the law and not stealing water. Funny how the wealthy always get more then their fair share.
COMMENT 298272	2012-07-17 06:04 AM
NO MERCURY!!! There are three main springs in the canyon. I have mineral analysis of all three. The lowest spring IS an arsenic spring. Not only is there no mercury in the water, the sulphur in the water binds to mercury. I soaked daily while working on an experimental project using much mercury during the eighties. These are a real blessing to humanity and health, we need continued access for more centuries.
FLICKA	2012-07-17 07:14 AM
Tubs were built when the hotel there was. They are an attractive nuisance, if there is an accident the Land Trust would likely be sued. My grandma used to sneak in at night with friends, c. 1908 or so. People using the trails were trespassing on private property before bought by the Land Trust, could have been closed at any time and Montecito would have lost access to a wonderful area. I rode my horse there often with friends in the 1950s.
COMMENT 298311	2012-07-17 08:09 AM
The Land Trust owns the land, but the water and pipes are owned by 7 different water companies. Their storage tank easily seen from the beginning of Hot Springs Trail. Home owners in the area must pay for water just like anyone else. They do not have private ownership of the water. It is not trespassing to hike this area, as there is a legal 'right of way' to pass through, not camp. It is however illegal to tap into the water companies' pipes and water. It is the water companies who have workers periodically tear down any hot tubs that people build there.
COMMENT 298330	2012-07-17 08:47 AM
So back to the idea of installing a pipe specifically for the public's use. Anyone familiar with how this is done? Cost?
COMMENT 298338	2012-07-17 08:59 AM
As a Chumash....it`s very entertaining to witness you all arguing over water & who owns the ground!!...besides, you`re missing two crucial elements required in order for the water to be medicinal,of which I`m not sharing. "You can`t take it with you when you go"...ask the Pharaohs of Egypt.
COMMENT 298345	2012-07-17 09:07 AM
Greed prevails.
COMMENT 298353	2012-07-17 09:16 AM
The USFS is intent on taking the springs. At that time they will start to talk to the public about what will occur. CA Fish and Wildlife will get involved. Between a federal agency and a state agency the inappropriate and excessive taking of the springs will be taken care of for environmental issues. The springs are coming back as a creek at that point people will be figuring how to soak. Once hot springs form a creek again this will be a catch 22 and then the USFS will have to devise a plan to deal with it's "attractive nuisance". The springs will then become known nationally. Land Trust and the donors will eventually rue the day that they gave it to the USFS to allow access 24/7/365. This will backfire. The wise choice would have been to deal with the springs like Arroyo Hondo.
COMMENT 298393	2012-07-17 10:19 AM
First rule of Hot Springs - you don't talk about Hot Springs.
SKOOBY	2012-07-17 10:39 AM
Like many things in Santa Barbara, what used to work decades ago is no longer available due to misuse. I was up at the hot springs last winter. No one was around, but the "bathing" area was yukky mud and trash surrounded the area. No way would I have used even the mud for health reasons. Natural places like that suffer droughts and too many people. The Tea Gardens used to be accessible in the 50s and 60s until skate boarders and other vandals made a mess out of graffiti on the walls and reservoirs and knocked over the water bowls along the road. Now no one can go up. Who can blame the owners who become highly liable were something dangerous to happen, no matter who might be to blame? Let's use this wonderful Land Trust gift to the public for some spectacular hikes and recreation.
COMMENT 298412	2012-07-17 11:01 AM
It is a misnomer to think that the community could not find a safe sane and rational way to allow the springs to be available. Now more then ever it is important to have things like these special springs to be available. Land Trust for Santa Barbara County refused to consider other options. They said the expertise was not in the community. That is a lie. Again this is a fraud against the community. The real issue is a primitive spring in an urban area. The springs need some development and management. Hot springs enthusiasts trying to keep this a secret and continue with the illicit status quo of these last 50 years will not work either. Land Trust is nothing but sinister not having the springs specifically being discussed within the entire community.
COMMENT 298653	2012-07-17 06:46 PM
It appears to me that Michael Feeney and Land Trust for Santa Barbara County kept the donors and the community in the dark about a very important matter.

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