Blocking the entrance to Santa Barbara Harbor with sand puts a halt to our local seagoing economy and that’s just what happened.
El Niño winter flooded the entrance with sand, and now we wait for dredging operations to allow free access to the open ocean so that the fishing fleet, tourist fleet and private boaters can get back out to sea and feed the economy as well as hungry mouths.
Nothing moves sand and soft sediment like strong currents and big swells, which stir up the near-shore seafloor and move the sand down current until it finds a place to settle out.
Our manmade harbor was designed (unintentionally) to be a perfect spot for moving sand to settle out. Unfortunately, the design subjects our Harbor entrance to shoaling and necessitates periodic dredging.
What’s next? The dredge operator must save the day once again. This is all done under contracts and is under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE).
Santa Barbara Waterfront Facilities Manager Karl Treiberg said, “The Army Corps of Engineers is a great partner and usually takes very good care of us here in Santa Barbara.”
Evidence of that is the special arrangement made for this year to deal with the anticipated effects of El Niño.
In recent years, the volume of dredged material contracted to be moved was systematically reduced first to 150 thousand cubic yards per contract cycle (2 years), then to 120 thousand cubic yards.
For this cycle however ACE bumped up the number to 200 thousand cubic yards to help deal with potential impacts of El Niño.
Some weeks ago, unrelenting swells and strong currents had moved enough material into the Harbor entrance to cause the Waterfront Department to notify ACE that we were looking at potential shoaling in a few weeks.
That got the paperwork rolling. Normally there would have been plenty of time to get the dredge in operation before shoaling occurred.
This time however, big swells continued, and strong currents poured sand into our boat channel quicker than the paperwork could get done.
Transiting the harbor entrance became risky business requiring the right tide phase and perhaps an escort from the Harbor Patrol.
By the time you read this, the dredge will be in operation and making solid progress against the shoal. The harbor entrance should very soon be cleared and our water-based businesses back in the full swing of things.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
