March 2024 E-Letter
• The Goleta Sewage Spill
• Water Quality in Goleta
• Join Us for an Art Exhibit Benefitting HTO
• Cate School Shows Love for the Ocean on Valentine’s Day
• HTO Earns 2024 Candid Platinum Seal
• Don’t Miss HTO’s Upcoming Events!
The Goleta Sewage Spill
Click to Visit the County Ocean Water Monitoring Program Page
The morning of Saturday February 17, Goleta West Sanitary District (GWSD) discovered a sewage spill from a pressurized main pipeline by the Santa Barbara Airport. On Thursday February 22, GWSD published a press release (here), reporting that all relevant parties, including the California Office of Emergency Services and the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department were immediately notified of the spill on February 17. The same day, February 22, Public Health notified the public of the 500,000-gallon sewage spill. On Friday, GWSD revised the spill to estimate 1,025,000-gallons, the largest sewage spill in recent local history.
On Saturday February 24, Heal the Ocean Executive Director Hillary Hauser was contacted by 2nd District Supervisor Laura Capps, who immediately went to work on the situation on behalf of her constituents - she was concerned and wanted to be further informed about the incident.
The following Monday February 26, Heal the Ocean assembled a meeting of sanitary district managers – from Carpinteria, the City of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and the Goleta West Sanitary District manager. HTO Executive Director Hillary Hauser led the questioning, accompanied by HTO Policy Analyst Noah Boland and HTO Operations Manager Jasmin Tupy. HTO’s main interest was to find out if other wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) had experienced any spillage or overflows due to recent torrential rains and flooding caused by “Atmospheric Rivers.” HTO learned that the spill was unrelated to heavy rain.
During the Tuesday February 27 Board of Supervisors hearing, HTO urged the public to let the Regional Water Quality Board regulators to investigate the cause of the spill.
HTO is thrilled learn that action is being taken by the Regional Water Quality Board. Moving forward HTO advocates corrective action so this type of spill never happens again. We encourage SB Public Health and GWSD to improve the public notification process to protect the health of beach-goers who may not be aware of the risks posed by the accident.
Goleta Beach Remains Closed Due to Sewage Spill
Goleta Beach continues to remain closed due to the spill. The Santa Barbara County Public Health officials have advised that the beach will remain closed until water testing indicates it is safe for the public.
Unfortunately, current coliform levels exceed safe water quality standards, prompting the posting of 28 red warning signs along the shore to caution beach-goers against entering the ocean in this area. Exposure to untreated sewage can result in skin rashes, infections, and gastrointestinal harm.
For ongoing updates on water quality, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reports weekly results through the County’s Ocean Water Monitoring Program. To receive these updates directly, please email JJohnston@sbcphd.org or MCensullo@sbcphd.org to subscribe.
Join Us for an Art Exhibit Benefitting HTO
Click the image to see the Heal the Ocean Collection Catalog.
Please join Heal the Ocean at the opening reception for Nicklaus Schwaller’s Art Exhibit on Thursday, March 7, from 6-8pm at 3823 Santa Claus Lane, Carpinteria. 50% of all artwork sales at the show will be donated to HTO and there will be light refreshments available. If you can't attend the opening reception, the gallery will be open on Friday from 6-8pm, and on Saturday/Sunday from 9am to 4pm.
Schwaller's exhibit emphasizes processes of flow and spontaneous intersection to portray abstracted landscape of the Santa Barbara marine biosphere.
We hope to see you there!
Cate School Shows Love for the Ocean on Valentine’s Day
145 pounds of debris removed from Carpinteria State Beach. Photos by Jasmin Tupy.
For Cate School's annual Community Engagement Day on Wednesday, February 14, HTO led students through a beach cleanup at Carpinteria State Beach. It was a great way to show love for the ocean on Valentine’s Day, a holiday often overshadowed by consumerism and waste. Instead of focusing on material gifts that often end up in landfills, HTO emphasized the importance of environmental stewardship and waste prevention.
In just two hours, the students collected an astounding 295 pieces of debris, totaling 145 pounds. The students were surprised by the variety of items they found, including a buried blanket and foam pad that had absorbed water, making its removal challenging and heavy. This served as a powerful reminder that cleaning up after ourselves is much more difficult than preventing waste in the first place.
HTO thanks our dedicated supporters for volunteering their time to make our beaches more beautiful. If you're interested in conducting a cleanup independently, HTO is happy to provide you with gloves, bags, and more for your cleanup. For more details, please contact Jasmin at jasmin@healtheocean.org.
HTO Earns 2024 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency
We are thrilled to announce that Heal the Ocean has been awarded the 2024 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency! Visit our nonprofit profile here to stay updated on our impact.
To learn more about our work, visit our program page on our website for more information!
Don't miss HTO at these Upcoming Events!
Come swing by our booth! Photo by Harry Rabin.
As spring and summer approaches, HTO is gearing up participate at several amazing community events coming up! Mark your calendars for these fun-filled gatherings that you won’t want to miss:
Once again HTO will be participating at CEC’s Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28!
We're proud to sponsor the 2024 Santa Barbara Surf Film Festival, taking place at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara on June 7th and 8th. Come watch incredible surf and environmental films with us!
Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for upcoming beach cleanup events that HTO will be hosting! A great way to stay updated is by following our organization Instagram @healtheoceansb.
From all of us at HTO to all of you, thank you. Please stay safe.
Hillary Hauser, Executive Director
HTO thanks the Poehler-Stremel Charitable Trust
for providing funds to publish our newsletters and e-letters!