Ocean waters at Goleta Beach — closed last month due to a major sewage spill — are now open again following water testing that confirmed they are safe for recreational use along the county park’s shoreline.
The east end of Goleta Beach remains closed to the public due to emergency storm and beach nourishment operations.
A water-contact advisory will remain in effect for that shoreline area.
Ocean waters at Goleta beach were closed Feb. 22 after an estimated 1,025,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Goleta Slough from a pipeline near the Santa Barbara Airport.
Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services tested the water on Wednesday and will do another routine sampling on Monday. The results from Wednesday’s test can be seen here.
Following the closure, the Goleta West Sanitary District revealed that the spillage occured on Feb. 16, six day before county health officials closed the beach waters and notified the public.
Goleta West Sanitary District is required to submit its investigation report about the spill to the Regional Water Quality Control Board by April 2, according to the county Public Health department.
