Santa Barbara has a new guest hanging out just off the coast.

A barge called the Ocean Provider arrived east of Stearns Wharf on Monday to help with the construction to stabilize the seawater intake pump platforms for the Charles E. Meyer Desalination Plant.

Senior project engineer Kris Ahrens said the project began after designers found that the ocean waves had washed away some of the ocean floor under the platforms.

“We experienced some scouring under the structure, so we’re installing some grout to stabilize it,” Ahrens said.

Once the grout is installed, she said the rocks will be installed to hold the structure in place.

The changes make the platforms more resilient to currents caused by storms and tidal fluctuations, and are expected to last approximately 50 years.

The 270-foot barge will house crews who will install the grout and all of the necessary equipment and materials. The crews will be installing 450 tons of rocks over the course of the project.

The desalination plant was originally built in 1991 and sat idle for 16 years before it was reactivated and started producing potable water in 2017. Not long after operations resumed, it was discovered that the erosion of the ocean floor had left one of the platforms suspended 18 inches above the ocean floor and at risk of damage.

The platforms were originally supposed to be built with rock coverings to protect them from the currents, but they were never installed. The reason is unknown.

Over the course of a day, the desalination plant produces 3 million gallons of drinking water. In a year, it produces 3,125 acre-feet of water, about 30% of the city’s demand.

The full cost of the contract is $3.5 million.

The project is expected to last until late November, and crews will be working seven days a week between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.