Santa Barbara County Flood Control (SBCFC) continues to conduct critical clearing of the Carpinteria watershed debris basins and transport of high-quality sediment to Carpinteria City Beach.

Since the operation began Jan. 17, some 14,000 cubic yards of sediment from Toro Canyon, Santa Monica and Arroyo Paredon debris basins have been transported from the basins to the beach, and soon clearing of the Gobernador debris basin will begin.

In coordination with the city of Carpinteria, SBCFC’s work to restore capacity and functionality to the debris basins also returns the natural rocks, gravel, and sand to Carpinteria City Beach, where this sediment material would otherwise naturally flow without the benefit of the basin.

The work is tentatively scheduled to be completed March 2, with a final clean up date of March 3.

To ensure only natural, quality sediment material is deposited at the beach, frequent testing is conducted. Wooded debris that swept into creeks and moved downstream to local beaches in the recent storm events has not been removed by the city.

Much of the mineral sediment and the woody debris have been already naturally removed from the beaches by tides and ocean currents, the city reports.

“Fortunately, damage from the January storms was minimal within the city of Carpinteria,” said Public Works Director John Ilasin. “Nonetheless, the heavy and prolonged rainfall of Jan. 9 and 10 did result in some significant flooding and left us with a lot of necessary clean up.

“We are doing our best to support efforts to clear debris basins and safely reopen public infrastructure.”

Sweeping of Carpinteria streets continues to be performed by the city in support of the sediment placement operation.

Also as a result of January storms, the Carpinteria Creek Bike Path has been temporarily closed for emergency repairs. The bike path is tentatively scheduled to reopen by the end of February.

The city has received the emergency permits required to remove debris from Carpinteria Creek, including under Carpinteria Avenue Bridge and nearby creek banks. Completion of the debris removal has been tentatively scheduled for the end of February.