Camping at El Capitán State Beach has been closed temporarily due to problems with the campsite’s well, and park officials have opened campsites at Gaviota State Park two weeks early to provide an alternative camping location.
The well used to provide water for El Capitán’s campsite was discovered to have a perforated casing, according to Eric Hjelstrom, who is the Santa Barbara sector superintendent for the California Department of Parks and Recreation
Because of that, the campground and showers will be closed until further notice, though day use facilities are still open.
Camping at Gaviota State Park has been opened to provide an alternative camping location for visitors, and camping will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hjelstrom said the well is “very old” and was underperforming last summer, whether from the drought, the perforations or both is unclear, and crews worked to clean out the well in order to address the problem.
After cameras were placed in the well, the perforations were discovered, requiring the casing to be replaced.
Park staff are working to get the parts ordered and installed, but they aren’t the type “you can just go to Home Depot on a Friday and buy,” he said.
Reservations for the campground open April 1, so the crews will spend the meantime “scrambling” to get the well up and running, he said.
“We’re going to do our best not to impact reservations,” he said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
