Santa Ynez River Groundwater Basin Study - Background (2019)
In the days of drought, our groundwater basins are sacred sources of water – vital to sustaining all life. Some groundwater basins still have ancient water that has not been drawn upon, but others are tragically over-drafted. Similarly, a groundwater basin that becomes polluted can never be cleaned up in its entirety. The water drawn from the basin must go through a treatment process to become potable. Among the pollution sources are agriculture (nitrates from fertilizers) and livestock. But the most insidious threat to a groundwater basin is the septic tank. The biggest “septic cluster” and septic pollution threat in Santa Barbara County exists among the 2,000+ septic systems in the Santa Ynez, Solvang, Los Olivos and Ballard areas. In recent years, these communities have greatly expanded in size, putting a strain on septic systems originally intended to support small populations. Working with the Santa Ynez Community Services District since 2001 on converting the Valley from septic to sewer, Heal the Ocean had made some progress getting financial help and engineering plans for the Santa Ynez Valley. Unfortunately, the area has resisted upgrading from septic to sewer, as they are fearful sewer pipes will encourage development.
Map made in 2001 by John Robinson (1938-2011) for Heal the Ocean. Septic “clusters” in Santa Barbara County. The heaviest use is over the Santa Ynez Valley watershed; the septic systems on the south coast have been identified as polluting surface water and the ocean (Rincon, the tiny point in the bottom right corner, and its neighbors to the west, have since been converted to sewer.)