CityofSantaBarbara
Source: City of Santa Barbara
Like the floors in many college dorm rooms, the seafloor in a busy harbor can be littered with lost or discarded junk. And just like on land, litter in the ocean can negatively impact the environment. Ever wonder, “What’s down there, where does it come from, and does anybody ever clean it up?”
On Saturday, May 7, 2022 you can find out.
Santa Barbara Harbor’s Operation Clean Sweep, a seafloor debris cleanup program, will hold its 14th annual event on Saturday, May 7. A team of volunteer divers, supported by 40 or so volunteer dock workers, will remove junk from beneath the Marina 1, A-F fingers. Divers will locate the junk and dock volunteers will haul it up and cart it off for disposal. The event begins at 8:00 a.m., with a briefing on the Travel Lift Pier beneath the Harbormaster’s Office, complete with free coffee and donuts, and concludes with a hearty box lunch at 11:30 a.m.
During past events, volunteers have removed over twenty tons of debris from Santa Barbara Harbor. Items retrieved during past years ranged from bicycles, barbeques, plastic barrels, and boat propellers to wire cages, outboard engines, phones, computers, and the occasional marine battery.
The City of Santa Barbara’s Waterfront Department joins volunteers from NOAA, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Barbara Channel keeper, Santa Barbara Sail and Power Squadron, and Salty Dog Dive Service in this effort.
For more information about the event or to volunteer, call Chris Bell at (805) 897-1962 or visit www.santabarbaraca.gov/cleansweep.
Agree. I have seen the black smoke belching out. It is disgusting.
Thank goodness the cruise ships don’t pull into the actual marina area. The sewage dumping alone would be horrendous; even the gray water from them would change the durrent habitat.