AnonymousSource: Santa Barbara County Public Works Department
Due to recent rainfall and the increased chance of future storms, Santa Barbara County Public Works (Public Works) will begin sediment deposit operations at Goleta Beach. The sediment deposit will start as soon as Friday, March 20, 2020, and will continue as needed until facilities have been cleared. Operations will occur Monday through Friday. Public Works has used upland disposal sites and other County property for debris management. However, inadequate space remains for this effort.
Santa Barbara County Flood Control District (District) Deputy Director Tom Fayram said, “During recent storms, we have seen a substantial amount of material coming through the watersheds impacted by the Thomas Fire. If we don’t clear out the rocks and sediment, it leaves the surrounding areas vulnerable to increased runoff during future storms.”
The County is making every effort to assure safety and public access to Goleta Beach. Sediment nourishment has occurred at Goleta Beach since 1994 with desilting material from the Goleta Slough and other creeks and basins. Public Works has also conducted environmental monitoring at the beach since 2003. Before beach nourishment operations, the District obtains emergency permits from state and federal agencies. The District collects sediment samples from the debris basins and ocean water samples before and during deposit operations. Weekly reports with information on sediment sampling results are sent to the regulatory agencies. The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department also monitors the ocean water at the deposit sites to ensure they meet water quality standards for recreation. Beach nourishment operations have also protected Goleta Beach Park from further erosion by creating a wide shore near the location of the sediment deposit.
For more information about District programs, visit www.countyofsb.org/pwd/
With full acknowledgement that 2018 was, err, complicated… Goleta Beach requires nourishment (the industry term for adding sand to the beach) to even exist. Other communities pay huge sums to have sand delivered from far away. Goleta Beach and East/West Beaches in SB are lucky to have local sediment/dredging sources. The debris basins referenced in the article are in the mountains above town and are clean; this routine nourishment is not comparable to the 2018 emergency work where they were cleaning the residential debris from the freeway.
How dare they still have the nerve to call this “nourishment”— and under what permit are they doing this?! Surely they can’t claim “emergency” a week after the rain and before a predicted half-inch?! Just continuing to use the unincorporated Second District as a dumping ground– and during a public health emergency, at that. Hope someone has the courage this time to challenge them. This is BS. PS- if this is from Thomas Fire, they may want to look at their map, and use one of the beaches in that vicinity. Gregg Hart?? Hello???
I say let them deposit any debris aka silt from the burn areas of Montecito to Butterfly Beach or a bit south!
Oh, I’ll bet the city of Goleta is told alright.
“We’re doing it & you can’t stop us!”
Absolutely, Butterfly Beach along the Four Season’s needs LOTS of Nourishment.
Tom Fayram is the person who makes this decision. His email is tfayram@cosbpw.net. Let him know how you feel. I already have.
Call it “Beach Nourishment” or call it “Debris dumping”. Doesn’t the beach off the Biltmore’s Coral Casino need “nourishing”? How about the Miramar’s? Goleta wannabe beach-goers shouldn’t be greedy.
The “material coming through the watersheds impacted by the Thomas Fire” does not originate from, nor end up in, anywhere near Goleta. So, why are we being dumped on AGAIN? This is some bullpucky!
Does Goleta get $$ from Santa Barbara and Montecito for this “act of kindness”?
Beach “nourishment” . Insert eye roll emoji.
This is great! I am happy to see benefit to the community preserving and building the beach park that so many people of all ages enjoy. Call it what ever you want, dumping, enriching, It is working. I would much rather see this than taxpayer’s money going to lining someone’s generous pension fund. It’s a win win. Whats the problem? They are carefully testing the soil. That debris has to be moved so it does not cause problems and it is improving this public beach. It’s never looked better.
Can’t hurt to much, except for the little bit of marine life that lives around the sewer pipe the Bay is pretty much an underwater waste land. IMO
Last year something similar was done and I noticed we enjoyed a sandy beach all of last summer, even today. Hoping whatever is going on now does the exact same thing. If there is no sand, there is no beach to enjoy.