More than 1 million gallons of sewage spill in Goleta, closing beach
February 26, 2024
By JOSH FRIEDMAN
More than 1 million gallons of sewage spilled into the Goleta Slough and Pacific Ocean last week, resulting in the closure of a Santa Barbara County beach. [SF Gate]
A storm that flooded parts of the Central Coast damaged a force main sewer line near the Santa Barbara Airport. Approximately 1,025,000 million gallons of sewage spilled into water, according to the Goleta West Sanitary District.
On Thursday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department announced it was closing two beaches indefinitely due to sewage spilled from a sewer line and manhole that contaminated waterways. The public health department closed Goleta Beach from 1 mile east to a half-mile west of the Goleta Slough outfall.
Additionally, the public health department closed a beach about 15 miles south because of a separate sewage spill. Officials closed Miramar Beach to recreation after 2,500 gallons of sewage spilled from a sewer manhole into Oak Creek in Montecito.
Health department personnel will continue to test water samples at Goleta and Miramar beaches for evidence of pathogens and bacteria. The beaches will remain closed until the areas test within state recreation water standards.
It is unclear what exactly caused the Goleta Slough spill.
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