ASH AVENUE (CARPINTERIA BEACH)

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7_BEACON Tech Report (FINAL)

eelgrass blades above sand, and general health of eelgrass following information shall be

recorded.

The survey shall be repeated following beachfill operations and again at the end of the summer

season during the period of maximum sand cover. If project-generated sand deposition is

observed to be adversely affecting the eelgrass bed, subsequent beach fill activities at Goleta

Beach shall either be modified in a way to prevent deposition of sand in the eelgrass bed or

ceased entirely at this site. If the project is observed to cause extensive damage to the eelgrass

bed resulting in a loss of plants, additional mitigation may be required.

5.1.2

Physical Monitoring

The Goleta Beach fill site is located just west of the mouth of the Goleta Slough and sediment

may move towards the mouth of the slough and cause it to close. The Santa Barbara County

Flood Control District currently reopens the mouth of the Slough three to four times a year. The

mouth of Goleta Slough shall be monitored during and after beach fill operations at Goleta

Beach. If monitoring indicates that the slough mouth is closed as a result of beach fill activities,

BEACON proposes to reopen the slough mouth with bulldozers.

To prevent impacts to the kelp beds located downcoast of the Goleta beach fill site, turbidity

monitoring will be conducted. It is proposed that turbidity monitoring will be conducted during

construction of the beach fills by visual observation to ensure that the turbidity plume does not

increase significantly over ambient conditions for an extended duration and area. Beach profile

surveys will be conducted prior to and after construction of beach fill operations to track the

movement and retention of sand. Methods for collecting profile data should be consistent with

previous profiling efforts to ensure the data are comparable over time.

5.2

ASH AVENUE (CARPINTERIA BEACH)

Ash Avenue is also an environmentally sensitive site, therefore biological monitoring will be

conducted on the Carpinteria Reef located upcoast of the proposed beach fill location, the

intertidal habitat located downcoast, and visual monitoring for potential impacts to the

Carpinteria Marsh inlet from closure.

5.2.1

Biological Monitoring

Carpinteria Reef. The Carpinteria Reef will be monitored for potential sedimentation and

health. Beach fill is proposed during the Fall-Winter only, when the littoral drift is predominately

to the south; therefore, sand burial of the reef should not occur. An intertidal reef is located

downcoast and will be monitored for potential sand burial. BEACON will coordinate with

researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) who are conducting a

long-term monitoring program at Carpinteria Reef. A baseline shall be established prior to beach

fill activities at Ash Avenue. The baseline will include installing reference stakes to measure

sand deposition. Permanent transects shall be established to monitor the percentage of sand and

rock substrate along each transect, sand height over the reef, percent cover of sand and organisms

on rocks, density of kelps and large invertebrates, density of life stages of kelp, and observations

on health of kelp and other organisms.

5-2

Moffatt & Nichol Engineers