It’s a lush nature preserve which sits on the west side of Carpinteria.
The Carpinteria Salt Marsh is home to more than 190 species of birds, 37 types of fish, and 11 kinds of mammals.
But, this year’s storms have created a major problem with the marsh which not only threatens nearby property, but the habitat that’s so important for wildlife.
"In the January storms, the high sediment load coming into the salt marsh completely filled the marsh channels," said Andrew Raff, who is the is Environmental Manager for the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District.
"When those channels are full, they lose capacity for future storms, and the surrounding community is at risk," said Raff.
He says the storms brought sediment from the mountains down through Santa Monica, and Franklin Creeks into the salt marsh.
As soon as the weather eased up and the county could line up a contractor, work started on dredging the debris. It’s been taking place 24/7 since April.
Raff says they are using a special hydraulic dredge to move the sediment out of the salt marsh. "It's a boat-mounted dredge vessel," said Raff. "It has a cutter head on one end, which is typical to dredge harbors, and other marine environments. The dredge liquefies the sediment to water, pumps it through a pipe which is discharged out through the marsh mouth."
As a result of the work, a section of the beach has been closed, and could remain closed through mid-summer. The beach has been closed within 400 feet of the marsh mouth.
Raff says they know it’s been hard for nearby residents, and beachgoers, but they are working to get the project done as quickly as possible.
The hope is that the dredging project will be enough to keep the salt marsh’s channels open for several years. The last time it was done was after the big 2018 storm which hit the region. It will be nature’s call on when it might have to happen again.
