Anonymous
Photos: Goleta Beach
Source: County of Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara County watersheds impacted by the Thomas Fire have not fully recovered and remain vulnerable to increased runoff. Winter storms continue to produce a significant amount of rocks and sediment into the debris basins above Montecito and Carpinteria.
The Santa Barbara County Flood Control District (District) has worked to clear basins before, during and after these winter storms. In addition to utilizing available upland disposal sites in Buellton, Santa Paula, the closed Foothill Landfill and other County property, beach disposal at Carpinteria Beach at Ash Avenue began on Feb. 4, 2019, and will be continued as needed until affected watersheds have recovered.
Prior to beach disposal operations, the District obtains emergency permits from state and federal agencies. Emergency permits allow for disposal of beach compatible sediment at three beach locations: Carpinteria Beach at Ash Avenue, Goleta Beach County Park, and Butterfly Beach in Montecito. Carpinteria Beach at Ash Avenue was the first location utilized for beach disposal and nourishment. Given the impacts of the most recent storms, the County’s Goleta Beach is needed now, and preparation activities will begin on Monday, Feb. 18, 2019, with disposal planned beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.
The County’s winter storm sediment deposited on Ash Avenue significantly nourished and restored the beach helping abate the impacts of a seven-year drought. Goleta Beach County Park has also been impacted by the drought, as well as significant king tides, resulting in no beach areas during high tide.
Every effort is being made to assure safety and public access to Goleta Beach. The District has collected sediment samples from each debris basin site that will have material taken to the beach. Sediment samples will continue to be taken throughout beach sediment disposal operations. Ocean water samples were taken prior to beach disposal operations as well. To ensure that ocean water at the disposal sites meets applicable water quality standards for recreation, the County Public Health Department is monitoring. The beaches will be open unless notified otherwise and the Beachside Restaurant, located at Goleta Beach County Park, will not be impacted.
This is outrageous, after contaminating Goleta Beach for almost all of 2018, the County has the audacity to do this AGAIN???? Where are the gatekeepers? Where are our representatives? NO other County does this kind of dumping. It needs to STOP.
No County beaches in the Montecito area? Dumping in Goleta area is very unpopular, and closed the beach until summer last year. E coli anyone?
John Palminteri Twitter, Verified account @JohnPalminteri. 2h2 hours ago.
“Sediment from Montecito and Carpinteria debris basins heading to Goleta Beach starting Tuesday in addition to Carpinteria, Foothill site and Buellton.”
Goleta Beach is probably the best spot to dump the debris for many reasons.
Lol says the non-Goletan. Just get it out of montecito, right?
As long as it disappears on the beaches of the people who supplied the poop and toxic waste, it is fine with me. However, we don’t want it on our beaches 15 miles north every year.
Na Goleta Beach is already pretty much an underwater desert.
The debris basins are above Montecito and Carp, so why are they trucking it all the way to Goleta? Considering that dumping already started in Carp, and now Goleta, why then when Butterfly is the closest and the source of the debris, has nothing been deposited there? Silly question.
Does anyone know if there are any fisheries or other aquatic life that are affected by dumping silt and sand into the ocean in locations where nature does not do it? Very little gets out of the Goleta and Carpinteria marshes, but the Montecito Creeks that dump directly into the ocean probably carry a fair amount. The problems with basin material disposal, and the cost, is why the County didn’t clean them out sufficiently for many years prior to 2018.
You might want to consider ACCESS. How do dump trucks access the ocean to dump their loads? The location you question would require a bucket brigade or a conveyor to bring materials from the parking lot to the beach. Just sayin…!
Right, they should just hire David Copperfield to make it disappear.
yes, this is not how nature works and they are causing a chain reaction affecting hundreds, thousands of marine life. Starts with the sand crabs and birds. The sand crabs will die off (and do when covered in mud), many fish and birds eat these critters. Fish populations move or die due to the rush of toxins in the water. WE won’t be able to get into the water for several more months regardless of the temperature. Captain Dave Bacon penned an op ed in Noozhawk when they first did this dump at Goleta beach. I fish there and at Carp and Butterfly. I can tell you for certain, that when they dumped at Goleta beach the first time, not only were we not to get into the ocean, but I wasn’t catching fish there for months, and was told by a fellow angler, that the fish would be full of toxins and would have to be over cooked. WTF are we doing to our coastline and beaches? This is a bit over the top.
please explain this. Why do you think so?
This doesn’t help erosion and doesn’t help create a beach for us to use.
Sad that G beach is seeing round 2 of this mess. If only there was a better place to do this. Maybe leave the sediment in the hills where the runoff wanted it to be, and conserve fossil fuels and government money. Also, couldn’t this be shared a little at butterfly close to the cemetery? Dump it right on the rocks just like what they are doing in Goleta.
Pretty sick of Montecito’s crap being dumped on our beach!
Go look at butterfly beach and tell me where the truck is supposed to go
SBC – Please explain why you are not dumping on Butterfly Beach. Is there no access for trucks to dump directly on the beach – the wall is in the way? This is a glaring omission in this article.