GWSD 2024 Spill Disclosure

November 10, 2025

Summary

In February 2024, Goleta West Sanitary District experienced a sewage spill from its force main that reached a tributary of the Goleta Slough and eventually the Pacific Ocean. The force main, a 24-inch pipe used to convey wastewater from homes and businesses to the nearby Regional Treatment Plant, experienced a failure on the night of February 16, when a small, corroded section of the pipe ruptured. The spill was discovered early in the morning of February 17 and the District diverted flow from to the 24-inch force main, which was in-service at the time of the failure, to the backup 18-inch force main.

In October 2024, an unrelated, smaller spill occurred. This spill flowed to an isolated retention basin where the Santa Barbara Airport drains runway stormwater runoff. As a result of this spill’s location, none of the wastewater reached a tributary or the ocean and GWSD quickly cleaned up the spill.

These incidents are a major disappointment for the District but have evolved into an opportunity to work with oversight agencies, environmental groups, and third-party engineers to investigate and address any issues with its force mains. It is a priority for the District to demonstrate that we safely handle wastewater and protect the environment on behalf of not only District customers, but the community at large.

October 16, 2025, the District and the Central Coast Regional Water Board Assistant Executive Officer agreed to settle the Notice of Violations (NOV) related to the February spill. Public comment is now open until November 17th.More information is available here: Enforcement Program | Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.Click here to view the communication from the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board that includes the Draft Settlement Agreement and Stipulation for Entry of Administrative Civil Liability Order from the Central Coast regional Water Quality Control Board and how you can submit public comment.

Details

February 2024 spill

A few weeks prior to the spill, the 24" force main and pump station were taken out of service to isolate a different section of force main pipe (located directly outside of pump station 1 to the West of the Goleta Slough), for repair and a bypass operation was used while repairs took place. This repair was a result of a leak causing exfiltration that GWSD voluntarily notified the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board about. The bypass utilized the District’s back-up 18" force main. The 24" force main was left in ready and working state, but not pressurized, while the bypass was in place. Best practices were used to ensure the force main could safely be brought back into service. When repairs were completed on the evening of February 16th, the 24" force main and pump station were put back into service following GWSD's written procedures.

The District ascertained that the spill began around 8:00 p.m. on the night of February 16th. The spill was discovered at 8:24 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, February 17th when District personnel followed up to check on the pump station and force mains as is standard procedure whenever changes are made to force main operations.

Upon discovery of the spill, GWSD staff immediately took action to stop the flow to the 24" force main and worked urgently to contain the spill. Additionally, District staff activated mutual aid response with Goleta Sanitary District and the City of Santa Barbara to support the containment and clean-up effort. Response urgency was heightened by the forecasted atmospheric river that would bring 3 inches of rain in the coming days.

Post-spill investigation and analysis by both the District and 3rd party engineers revealed external damage to a 12 inch long area of the 24” force main. Because the pipe was well within its projected life span, it is theorized that the damage to the exterior coating was sustained during installation decades earlier, facilitating the external corrosion witnessed on the pipe. Internal and external pipe coating materials are intended to guard against normal corrosion, but the soil conditions near the Goleta Slough are highly corrosive and appear to have contributed to the failure in a way that could not have been anticipated without knowledge of the installation damage.

District staff created improvised containment to prevent the flow of wastewater into a tributary to the Goleta Slough in an effort to minimize impacts to the environment. A sewage vacuum truck collected and disposed of 12 loads of standing wastewater and a dump truck and tractor were deployed to carefully collect and remove solids.

Collaborative corrective actions

Local, county, and state agencies responsible for ensuring proper handling of wastewater have been closely involved in the spill response efforts. Additionally, since Goleta West Sanitary District conveys wastewater near to sensitive wetland areas, agencies with oversight responsibilities over these areas have been involved in evaluating how to prevent future occurrences. GWSD has dedicated itself to responding appropriately and vigorously to ensure incidents like these do not happen in the future.

The state Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) is the primary oversight agency for spill incidents. GWSD followed all protocols and continues to satisfy agency requirements. By March 1, 2024, the District submitted a certified spill report, and a month later, the District followed up with a technical report. These reports have been updated when warranted by further investigation.

The District arranged for stress testing by certified engineers to verify the integrity of the entire force main pipe repairs before the 24” force main was brought back online on May 1st.

Prior to the spill in February 2024, GWSD was in the process of assessing the condition of its pipes, including the force mains, as part of its Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP). GWSD engaged an engineering firm for this assessment in November 2022. The engineering firm was finalizing its condition assessment into a report at the time of the February 2024 spill. The District then asked the firm to consider the spill event findings and authorized a more extensive condition assessment utilizing Best Available Technology (BAT). The scope of the assessment utilizing BAT included additional field inspections and detailed data collection to provide comprehensive information that was not in the scope of the original assessment. The District expects to have a final condition assessment report in the Winter of 2025, and will use it to inform future rehabilitation and/or replacement efforts. The District anticipates presenting the final report to the District’s Board of Directors for consideration and approval in Winter 2025.
October 2024 Spill

At about 12:13 p.m. on October 30, 2024, District personnel discovered a spill from a manhole cover above the 24” force main near a secure access road at the Santa Barbara Airport, a separate location from that of the February 2024 spill. District personnel acted immediately and stopped flow from the force main by 1:10 p.m. The District contained all of the estimated 8,500 gallons of spilled wastewater in an Airport stormwater drainage outfall retention basin, where the flow pooled and was then recovered and removed for treatment.

A minimal amount of wastewater may have absorbed into surface soils in the spill area, but it was determined that a more intensive cleanup effort involving soil removal would do more harm than good to native plants in the area. Like the February 2024 spill, the October spill also occurred within the Airport’s restricted access area with little to no risk of public exposure to the spill site.

The District determined that the October spill was caused by the failure of a gasket where an air release valve was previously removed several decades ago. The cause of the leak appeared to also be attributed to external corrosion of the decommissioned air release valve steel coupling gasket, likely from exposure to the corrosive soils in the area.

Once it was determined that corrosion of a gasket on the steel coupling caused the leak, the District swiftly and proactively replaced all similar couplings along the force main. Additionally, a recently installed flow meter alarm system showed the spill had started just before it was discovered by District staff. The District has since recalibrated its flow meter to a more sensitive level in order to receive immediate notification of even small deviations in flow. Any leaks or disruption in flow, even very minor changes, will trigger the alarm and immediately alert staff.

The District’s Board of Directors approved of and commissioned a more extensive assessment of both force mains utilizing Best Available Technology (BAT). The field assessment work was completed during the final months of 2024 and start of 2025. As part of that process, the District installed new pipeline access to facilitate future internal assessments of pipes. The GWSD Force Mains Condition Assessment Report should be ready for Board approval in Winter of 2025.

Collaboration and Communication

Collaboration with oversight and interested agencies commenced immediately following both spills and the District has continuously maintained thorough contact in the weeks and months since the event.

Immediately upon discovery of the spills, the District activated mutual aid by coordinating spill cleanup assistance from Goleta Sanitary District and the City of Santa Barbara.

The District coordinated site visits with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

GWSD has developed relationships with oversight agencies over the past year and continues to be in regular, meaningful contact with a network of interested parties.

Additionally, the District maintains regular communications with Airport staff and has provided in-person updates to the Goleta Slough Management Committee.
Lessons & Opportunities

GWSD is responsible for handling 2.2 million gallons of wastewater each day under normal dry-weather conditions and maintains just over 70 miles of pipeline and services 6,200 connections to homes and businesses. Because our community borders important natural resources and ecosystems, the district views protecting the environment as an integral aspect of our operations. As a result, February and October 2024 failures have led to thorough introspection into our systems, operations, and infrastructure with a sincere willingness to learn and improve. Spills are unacceptable to the District, and the only way to prevent them in the future is to work intentionally and intensively to detect and correct any potential flaws in the system.

The District regularly reviews its Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) to ensure effectiveness of its implementation. Additionally, in response to the spill, the District has committed additional funding resources and installed deployment and retrieval infrastructure to increase the frequency of its force main condition assessments more easily to once every 5-years with best available technology.

While extremely disappointing, these failures have provided lessons that have led to updates to our Standard Operating Procedures and methods of testing our collections systems to ensure pipe integrity, including lessons with respect to pipeline corrosion in coastal wetland conditions. Additionally, our experience in responding to these spill events have allowed us to identify improvements to communication and mutual aid activation efforts.

These lessons, and the changes implemented, will serve to minimize the potential for future spills and will benefit not only our customers, but also our natural resources and our community as a whole.

Frequently Asked Questions

FEBRUARY 17, 2024 SPILL

What happened in February 2024?

Between February 16 and 17, 2024, wastewater was released from an approximately 12” rupture in a pressurized 24” ductile iron force main pipe that delivers wastewater from the district’s collection system to the regional treatment plant. The spill, caused by the corroded segment of underground pipe, was discovered on the morning of February 17th and personnel immediately began a clean-up effort to contain and remove wastewater. The inspection of the force mains on the morning of the 17th, which is standard operating procedure whenever changes are made to the force mains, was coordinated the evening before as it was unsafe to enter the airport secure access area in the dark when recommissioning of the pump station and 24” force main was completed
What caused the February 2024 spill?

Investigation revealed that the underground pipe, despite being well within its projected lifespan, had external damage and corrosion that caused it to fail. Highly corrosive soil conditions near the Goleta Slough contributed to the pipe’s deterioration. Inspections later revealed that the approximately 12” rupture occurred on an isolated location on the pipe, suggesting this segment’s outer protective coating was damaged during installation decades earlier in 1978. Other than the failure point, the interior and exterior of the rest of the 24” pipe appeared to be in good condition when excavated for the repair.
Before the spill, what work was Goleta West performing on the collections system?

The main pump station, about half a mile from the February 2024 spill location, had been taken offline and bypassed for repairs. During this work, the 24” pipe that would later fail was temporarily taken out of service and a parallel backup 18” pipeline was utilized during the bypass operation to convey wastewater to the treatment plant. Once the repairs were completed at the pump station and in anticipation of an atmospheric river and up to 3 inches of rain in the coming days, the District restored normal operations on the evening of February 16th, reactivating the pump station and repressurizing the larger-capacity 24” pipeline. Hours later, the 24” pipeline conveying wastewater from the pump station ruptured, resulting in the spill.
How was the spill detected?

District staff discovered the spill at about 8:24 a.m. on Saturday February 17th when District personnel followed up to check on the pump station and force mains as is standard procedure whenever changes are made to force main operations.
What immediate actions were taken after the February 2024 spill?

District personnel immediately responded by stopping flow to the failed pipe and working rapidly to contain the spill. District staff carefully create a temporary containment area and prevent the flow of wastewater into a nearby tributary to the Goleta Slough. The District deployed a sewer vacuum truck to collect and dispose of 12 loads of standing wastewater and a dump truck removed debris. As soon as the emergency spill response and containment efforts were under control in the SB Airport secure access area, the District reported the spill event to the appropriate agencies.
What collaborative actions have been taken since the February 2024 spill?

Local, county, and state agencies, including the state Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), have been closely involved in analyzing spill impacts and response efforts. GWSD submitted a certified spill report and a technical report, and stress testing was conducted on the repaired pipe before it was recommissioned. The District secured a third-party engineering firm, which it had already brought on to evaluate pipe integrity, and expanded upon a comprehensive condition assessment of the District’s approximately 1.75 miles of 24” and 18” pipelines as part of its spill corrective action. The District has been in close communication with the Santa Barbara Airport, Goleta Sanitary District Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, and the Goleta Slough Management Committee and its member agencies with updates.

OCTOBER 2024 SPILL

What happened in October 2024?

On October 30, 2024, a spill occurred from a manhole cover above the District’s 24” force main pipeline within the Santa Barbara Airport secure access area the wastewater spill was contained within as airport stormwater retention basin, and then was recovered and removed for treatment.
What caused the October 2024 spill?

The October spill was caused by the failure of a gasket where an air release valve was previously removed decades ago. The cause of the leak appeared to also be attributed to external corrosion.
What proactive measures were taken after the October 2024 spill?

The District proactively replaced all similar couplings along its pipelines. A recently installed flow meter alarm system was recalibrated to a more sensitive level to provide immediate notification of even small deviations in flow. The District also increased the frequency of its ongoing pipe condition assessments to once every five years utilizing Best Available Technology (BAT).

SPILL RESPONSE & PROACTIVE MEASURES

How has Goleta West Sanitary District collaborated and communicated with other entities?

The District has prioritized collaboration with oversight and interested agencies after both spills. Mutual aid was activated with the Goleta Sanitary District and the City of Santa Barbara. Site visits were coordinated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. The District maintains regular contact with each of these agencies in addition to Santa Barbara Airport staff, and has provided several periodic updates to the Goleta Slough Management Committee and other interested parties.
What lessons have been learned from these spills?

These incidents, while deeply disappointing, have led to more thorough introspection into the District's systems, operations, and infrastructure. Lessons learned have been incorporated into updates to District’s Standard Operating Procedures and Emergency Contacts. Improvements in communication, mutual aid activation, and available emergency resources have also been prioritized. The District is committed to ensuring the existing force mains are tested and assessed utilizing the industry standard Best Available Technology (BAT) regularly. These assessments will help to further inform the District as it moves forward with long-term planning for potential rehabilitation or replacement of pipes subjected to corrosive coastal wetland soil conditions.
What is the District's commitment moving forward?
The District views protecting the environment as integral to its operations. Spills are unacceptable, and GWSD is committed to working intentionally and intensively to detect and correct any potential flaws in the system to prevent future incidents. These changes will benefit not just natural resources, but also customers and the broader community.

Further, the Central Coast Water Board Assistant Executive Officer and the District have agreed to settle theStatewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems, Order 2022-0103-DWQ(Statewide General Order), California Water Code section 13376, and Federal Clean Water Act section 301 that occurred on February 16, 2024 for $1,551,145 in administrative civil liability. Theproposed Settlement Agreement and Stipulation for Entry of Administrative Civil Liability Order R3-2025-0074(proposed Order) is linked here.

The proposed settlement includes the District paying $1,551,145 of the total liability towards the completion of a supplemental environmental project (SEP) which provides:
1. well sampling for local and state small water systems and domestic drinking water wells in Santa Barbara County;
2. for wells exceeding safe drinking water standards, provides replacement drinking water for households and/or the construction and maintenance of Point of Entry (POE) or Point of Use (POU) treatment systems, with a priority focus on providing access to safe drinking water for Underrepresented Communities; and,
3. a lessons learned report to document the pilot project with a goal of making it scalable and replicable by other agencies throughout the State.
The proposed Order was published by the Central Coast Water Board on October 16, 2025, and they will be taking public comments on the proposed Order through November 17, 2025. The public may submit written comments to: Central Coast Water Board, Attn: Tamara Anderson, 895 Aerovista Place, Suite 101, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Comments may be emailed toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

2024-11-01 GWSD Sewage Spill Press Release

2024-11-01 GWSD Sewage Spill Press Release 110.02 KBHOT

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February 2024 Spill Updates

At approximately 8:24 a.m. on the morning of February 17, 2024, District staff discovered a significant wastewater spill coming from our force main. District staff were able to shut down the pump station to stop the flow in the pipe by approximately 8:40 a.m and immediately launched an emergency response and cleanup effort. Our response is ongoing and we will keep this webpage updated to keep the public informed on our efforts.

To be placed on an email list to receive future updates, agendas and press releases, please send a blank email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Spill Updates in the subject.

Timeline: GWS Actions to Assess & Improve Force Mains

FEBRUARY 2024 SPILL OUTCOMES

(updated February 2026)

The Regional Water Quality Control Board “RWQCB” has completed its investigation into Goleta West Sanitary District’s February 2024 spill. RWQCB noticed a proposed Settlement Agreement based on its investigation findings and consistent with standard procedure and similar enforcements under state law. RWQCB regulates and enforces wastewater spills through a progressive enforcement framework and applies an Administrative Civil Liability for violations based on a multi-step penalty calculation.

What were key findings of the investigation?
- The Regional Water Quality Control Board determined that the spill of approximately 1.07 million gallons of untreated wastewater impacted beach recreation and posed a potential risk of harm to human and aquatic health.
- The cause of the spill was external corrosion on a section of underground pipe that may have been damaged during installation and not readily detectable and the District did not delay maintenance or cause the spill through negligence.
- Once it learned of the spill, Goleta West Sanitary District took action to stop and contain the spill, and provided timely, required notification to Santa Barbara County Public Health and appropriate regulatory agencies.
- Steps taken since the spill have proactively addressed unforeseen issues that originally led to the spill (see Action Plan below aimed to provide a long-term solution to corrosive soils where the existing pipe runs). Even before the spill, Goleta West had been assessing the condition of its entire collections system to identify potential vulnerabilities and implement proactive maintenance.
What is in the Settlement Agreement?

The Regional Water Quality Control Board regulates and enforces wastewater spills through a progressive enforcement framework and applies an Administrative Civil Liability for violations based on a multi-step penalty calculation. This Settlement Agreement is formal administrative enforcement that the Goleta West Sanitary District and the RWQCB Prosecution Team have stipulated to after the agency’s investigations and the parties’ negotiations.

To determine civil penalty amounts, RWQCB considers a number of factors: potential harm from the spill to the beneficial uses of impacted waterways; degree of toxicity of spilled wastewater; degree of discharger’s culpability; discharger’s voluntary cleanup and post-spill cooperation with the Regional Board; length of spill and volume; and additional factors.

RWQCB’s Prosecution Team recommends a civil penalty of $1.55 million with a Supplemental Environmental Project that will offset this penalty; Goleta West will use the penalty to fund the Santa Barbara County Point of Entry and Point of Use Pilot Project, which will provide well water sampling for drinking water quality with a priority to provide access to safe drinking water in underrepresented and disadvantaged communities within Santa Barbara County.

The project was considered after Goleta West had proposed several other potential environmental restoration ideas that were ineligible. This project is eligible and aligns with the agency’s core value and top priority of “the human right to water,” which prioritizes safe, clean, affordable and accessible water for human consumption, cooking and sanitation.
What Actions has Goleta West taken to prevent future spills?
Since the February 2024 spill, Goleta West Sanitary District has taken significant steps to reduce risk of future incidents in coordination with numerous agencies and stakeholders.

Prior to the spill, in November 2022, the District had proactively engaged an engineering firm to complete an assessment of the District’s force mains as part of its routine infrastructure maintenance efforts. The engineering firm was drafting the final condition assessment report when the February Spill occurred. The condition assessment tentatively concluded the pipe was in “good condition” and the pipe was in its 46th year of an 80-year lifespan. With the failure, Goleta West expanded the scope of the condition assessment, implemented several more assessments, numerous actions have been taken to further findings in light of the spill and deployment of pipe-assessment technologies, and the expanded assessment report has since been adopted.

Since the spill, many more proactive steps have been taken to upgrade and rehabilitate the collections system to reduce the risk of future spills. Additionally, upgraded systems have been put in place to better detect spills and enhance spill readiness in the areas of response and communication. These actions are voluntary and go above and beyond regulatory requirements to respond to the spill.

VOLUNTARY ACTIONS SINCE THE SPILL
- Performed updated pressure testing to confirm integrity of repaired force main
- Completed Compliance Evaluation Inspection guiding post-spill best practices
- Upgraded flowmetering and improved alarm systems for spill detection
- Replaced all removed air release valve adapters along force main
- Completed expanded force main condition assessments to inform action plan
- Engaged engineers for recommended force main rehabilitation
- Updated force main maintenance plan to inspect integrity more frequently with state-of-the-art technology
- Identified capital improvement funds to support rehabilitation program
- Improved coordination of mutual aid assistance for spill mitigation among agency partners
- Updated and extended collaborative communication plan with community partners
- Engaged industry experts for above standard compliance initiatives and organization support, including climate resiliency

260116 Goleta West FM Summary and Recommendations 24.61 MBHOT

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February 2024 Spill FAQ

What happened?

At approximately 8:24 a.m. on Saturday, February 17, 2024, District staff discovered a significant spill occurring from its 24” force main.

When discovered, wastewater was flowing from one of the District’s force main pipes, with some wastewater flowing into a tributary that drains the Airport’s stormwater. The tributary flows downstream and connects with Tecolotito Creek just before Tecolotito Creek joins San Pedro Creek, San Jose Creek, and Atascadero Creek and flows through the Goleta Slough Mouth into the Pacific Ocean.

The District immediately turned off the pump station to stop the flow in the force main, and closed both the 24-inch isolation valve in the valve vault as well as the 24-inch isolation valve at the treatment plant to stop wastewater from discharging into the tributary.

The District initially used observational data, wet well data, flow data, and data received from Goleta Sanitary District (who run and operate the Regional Treatment Plan) to estimate and update estimates of the volume spilled. The District then worked with an independent engineer to evaluate additional flow data and currently estimates that approximately 1,140,657 gallons spilled, and approximately 1,071,696 gallons were discharged into the tributary.
How did this happen?

With analysis and investigation support from independent engineers, the District determined in consultation with experts that the Spill was primarily caused by external corrosion of the 24-inch force main. The 24-inch force main is ductile iron with an exterior coating and asphalt lining. The external corrosion was caused by imperfect external corrosion protection, potentially caused by damage during installation, coupled with severely corrosive soils that contain high chloride concentrations.

A few weeks prior to the spill, the 24-inch force main and pump station were taken offline to isolate a different section of pipe that is located to the west of the Goleta Slough for an unrelated repair. The repair was to respond to a leak causing exfiltration that the District voluntarily notified the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board about upon discovery. A bypass operation was used while repairs took place. When the repair was complete, on the evening of February 16th, after 4:00 p.m., the 24-inch force main and pump station were brought back into service with the intent of returning the District to normal operations before the expected severe rainstorm that began on February 18th.

Based on the flow data, it appears that at approximately 7:28 p.m. on February 16th, the 24-inch force main failed at the point of external corrosion and the Spill began. Pressurizing and depressurizing the force main when it was brought back into service may have put stress on the corroded segment of pipe, but based on independent investigation, failure due to the external corrosion was imminent.

After flow to the force main was stopped on the morning of February 17th, the wastewater remaining in the pipe was removed and disposed of at the treatment plant. The portion of the 24-inch force main that failed was excavated, removed, and replaced. Upon removal, it was first observed that the leak was stemming from an area of the pipe showing severe exterior corrosion.

The District takes this spill very seriously. Independent investigation confirmed there were no signs of internal corrosion at the failure point and that the failure was not a result of an issue caused by the District’s operations. The District is now evaluating additional corrective action to determine if other segments of its pipe are vulnerable to external corrosion.
What response actions have been taken?

The District immediately responded once it discovered the spill at approximately 8:24 a.m. Flow in the pipe was stopped by 8:40 a.m., and by 9:15 a.m. on February 17th, District staff had created a barrier with spilled solid material to stop spillage into the tributary. The District used a Vactor truck to vacuum the wastewater at the spill point to further eliminate discharges to the tributary and capture pooling wastewater on the ground at the spill site. A tractor was used on the service road at the spill site to gather solid waste and then that waste was removed using a dump truck supplied by Goleta Sanitary District. The Vactor truck disposed of twelve loads of collected wastewater at the regional treatment facility.

At approximately 3:00 p.m., the District collected water samples above, at, and below the discharge spot in the tributary. District staff also gathered foreign material by hand throughout the spill site, including carefully removing materials by hand from a vegetated area closest to the tributary bank.

Between 5:55 p.m. to 6:05 p.m. that same day, the District was able to notify the appropriate agencies without substantially impeding the spill response.

On Sunday, February 18th, District staff returned to the spill site to continue clean-up efforts until rain commenced. Rain continued through Monday, February 19th, with over 3 inches of rain falling in the area.

On February 20th, a contractor mobilized to repair the force main, and on the 21st the contractor carefully excavated the section of failed pipe. Wastewater remaining in the pipe was pumped out of the pipe with mutual aid from the City of Santa Barbara, Goleta Sanitary District and Marborg Industries. The failed section of the pipe was removed and replaced with new pipe and repair couplings per District Standard Construction Specifications. The contractor backfilled the new pipe on February 22nd.

In March, the District removed an additional 10.35 tons of spill solids using hand tools from the upland area and reseeded the disturbed upland area with professional guidance from environmental consultants and a local ecologist, in coordination with the Santa Barbara Airport. In total, the District recovered and removed approximately 68,961 gallons of spilled wastewater plus additional semi-solid and solid materials in February and March. The District also reseeded the disturbed upland area to restore vegetation. The District also temporarily installed straw wattles between the disturbed upland area and the tributary out of an abundance of caution to prevent any erosion during forecasted rain events.

On March 21st, the District presented an update to the Goleta Slough Management Committee and requested agency involvement in a future inter-agency communications roundtable. The District has updated its communications plans and continues to coordinate with other agencies to ensure it has the most up-to-date contact information.

During the first week of April, the District conducted a successful hydrostatic pressure test on the 24-inch force main. The test was done as a precaution and further investigation into whether the pipe is stable for recommissioning. This test was the culmination of several weeks’ worth of preparations with several independent engineers and professionals. The results of the test indicated that the 24-inch force main meets sound engineering criteria and could be successfully placed back in service. As a result, the District, with support from independent engineers and in coordination with the Santa Barbara Airport, successfully recommissioned the 24-inch force main on May 1st.

The District continued sampling and monitoring water quality in the tributary, Tecolotito Creek, and the Goleta Slough for several months after the spill. The District staff completed updated training on the District’s Spill Emergency Response Plan (SERP) with an independent consultant, which included training on a few updates. And the District expanded the scope of its force main condition assessments, embarking on several more investigations, BAT assessments, infrastructure upgrades and interagency coordinations. This effort has become a “Force Main Action Plan” and the findings are intended to inform improvement projects to avoid future large spills.
When was Goleta Beach closed?

The District has received information that Goleta Beach was intermittently closed on February 8, 13, and 15th for the County’s Flood Control and Water Conservation District’s Beach Nourishment Project (“Beach Project”) preparations. The Beach Project involves dredging Tecolotito Creak upstream of the spill site and mechanically replenishing Goleta Beach with dredged sediment. The County had already planned to close at least part of Goleta Beach on February 20th for the Beach Project to begin.

On February 16th, the County issued a beach advisory in advance of the rain that was forecast to begin on February 18th.

On February 17th, just after 6:00 p.m., the District notified the County Public Health Department of the spill. Throughout the week of February 20th, the District communicated with the County Public Health Department to ensure beach closure. The County noticed closure in response to the spill on February 21st.

The County guidelines are to lift a closure once 2 consecutive water quality results are below certain health-related thresholds. The County has been sampling the water at the Goleta Slough mouth 2 to 3 times a week. The March 1st and March 4th water quality sample results at the Goleta Slough Mouth were below the health-related thresholds and the County Public Health Department would have been able to remove notice of a beach closure related to the spill. However, water samples at a different location at Goleta Beach were still not meeting the thresholds related to the County’s dredging operation and Beach Project, and stormwater runoff contributed separate water quality impacts after March 4th, so Goleta Beach remained closed until Friday March 15th for these other reasons.

It is possible additional beach closures may occur depending on on-going water quality testing for the on-going dredging operations or more rain events creating unrelated polluted stormwater runoff, but Goleta Beach is no longer closed because of the February Spill.