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Channelkeeper Advocates for Effective Long-Term Solution to Mud Dumping

Santa Barbara County Flood Control District maintains a network of debris basins that help reduce the risk of flooding during rain events. These debris basins fill with mud, silt, and rock and require ongoing clearing to function properly.  

Historically, the County disposed of excess material cleared from the basins in upland locations. However, following the 2018 Montecito debris flows, it began dumping this material in the surf zone at Carpinteria and Goleta Beaches under emergency permits. The use of emergency permitting means that the County does not have to perform as comprehensive a program to monitor, avoid, and mitigate potential ecological effects as may typically be required for these activities. 

In January, following several major storms, the County began clearing the debris basins and using heavy equipment to dump the mud and debris material onto Carpinteria and Goleta Beaches utilizing similar emergency permits to the ones received in the aftermath of the 2018 Montecito debris flows. 

These disposal activities impair water quality and impact fish, wildlife, and other biological resources by increasing turbidity and siltation in nearshore waters and by potentially introducing toxic chemicals like ammonia nitrogen, which is a natural product of decomposition in soils. The intensity and prolonged nature of consecutive daily dumping activity are producing negative impacts.

Channelkeeper finds the continued reliance on emergency permitting for debris basin clearing a significant concern. Moreover, the likely future need for basin clearing after storms makes it important for the County to find a better solution, one that minimizes damage to important habitats and waters, such as beaches and intertidal ecosystems. 

With public safety and ecosystem protections in mind, Channelkeeper is advocating for an effective, long-term solution and calling on County leaders to evaluate and determine an alternative disposal method.  

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NAVIGATION
  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • Financial Information
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
      • Student Art Show
    • Community Engagement
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Water Conservation
      • Events
      • Volunteer
      • Action Alerts
      • Report Pollution
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
      • Trash Clean-Ups
    • Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
        • Watershed Brigade Event
        • Watershed Brigade Monthly Challenge
        • Watershed Brigade Corporate Challenge
      • Stream Team
      • MPA Watch
      • Trash Clean-Ups
      • Events & Outreach
    • Report Pollution
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Action Alerts
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
    • Upcoming Events
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Video Gallery
  • Donate