Posted on September 5, 2023
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Goleta Beach County Park now has six more acres of beach to enjoy. During this year’s winter storms, the emergency beach nourishment operation delivered sediment to the beach. It helped sand naturally build up on the western end of the park. With the additional sand, the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department has installed volleyball nets on the beach for the first time since 2013.
Since 2018, the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department has responded to heavy storms by removing material from debris basins to reduce the potential for debris damage and flooding. Suitable sediment is delivered to Goleta Beach County Park and Carpinteria City Beach at Ash Avenue. This increases beach width and minimizes erosion to parks that everyone can access for recreation. The County follows environmental regulations to manage and protect wildlife and habitat during these emergency responses. In the long term, the emergency beach nourishment program helps protect the park from further sediment loss and erosion. The project replaces natural sediment transport that would occur in an undeveloped watershed. If the urbanization and debris basins did not exist, then sediment, cobble, and other material would make their way to the ocean through the creeks. Bringing that cobble, gravel, and sand back to the beach adds volume and resilience to protect the backshore from erosion and storms.
For more information on emergency beach nourishment, visit www.countyofsb.org/emergencybeachops
