Scientists detect human waste contamination in the mudslide debris used to enrich Goleta Beach.
When mudslides swept through Montecito in January 2018, Santa Barbara County was left with the subsequent task of determining where to relocate all the displaced debris. A propitious solution presented itself: the material could be used to build up some of the local beaches that have been eroding into the ocean.
The county quickly began transporting material to enrich the popular Goleta Beach, situated just east of UC Santa Barbara, where coastal erosion has been an ongoing issue.
For a number of years, researchers in the lab of Professor Patricia Holden have tracked the water quality in the vicinity, and the relocated debris gave them a new research opportunity. They were perfectly positioned to monitor how the new sediment affected the location.
Their findings were at first a bit alarming. The fill showed evidence of human waste contamination. Fortunately, however, the contamination appeared to dissipate after only a couple of weeks. The researchers’ study appears in the journal Water Research.
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