Rock Solid Plan Holds Harbor Areas Together During Recent Storms
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) – The rock wall built in 2024 following storms at the Santa Barbara harbor has proven its worth by surviving the recent storms and King Tide impacts.
While the sand wall may have lost most of the battle with erosion, the rock wall protected key areas.
That includes the Yacht Club parking lot, boat yard, and businesses in the harbor area.
There is also a pathway to the U.S. Coast Guard building and adjacent parking lots.
In past storms a portion of the parking lot went into the ocean, k-rail concrete barriers were necessary to shore up the area and there were other impacts to utilities the west end of the property.
The rock revetment was approved by the California Coastal Commission.
It was originally built as an emergency response to the 2023 storms, which caused widespread damage to the protections in place and opened the door for further damage if this work was not done.
“It saved this whole area. It would have tore up and undermined this whole parking lot again so this rock has really saved us right now,” said Waterfront Director Mike Wiltshire who looked over the area Monday to see how it held up. “In the 2023 storms we built this 400 foot long rock revetment. It was just a sand berm, it held for a decade or more.”
Five tons of rocks were brought in and then covered up with sand. However, the recent storms have wiped the sand out revealing where the rocks were stacked and they remain a firm protection.
The Harbor Commission and Waterfront Department are also working on long rang plans to deal with the next 30 years and issues including sea level rise. The plan stretches from East Beach to Leadbetter Beach.
There will also be a Civil Engineer keeping an eye on the rock wall to see how it holds up in storms and to provide input for the study.
The Waterfront Department is an Enterprise Fund and paid for the emergency work out of its budget. The cost was $2.8 million. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief funds were requested as a reimbursement. The department received $2.2 million leaving it with local costs of $600,000 for the project.
The Coastal Commission approval will be in place until 2034.
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