Channel Keeper, yet another fucking non-profit, (for those of you offended by the word "fucking", pls substitute an "s" for the "f"..for those of you offended by the word "sucking" pls substitute..oh forget it!!) wants to keep you afraid of going in the ocean...if you are afraid, you'll send them money so they can do studies and lab tests and monitoring to confirm what they think they know...that the miles and miles of sewer lines beneath the streets are leaking sewage everywhere..and when non-profits need money, they usually start screaming bloody murder..in order to scare you...in order to get money...so the Channel Keepers you may have heard just sued, actually threatened to sue, the City of Santa Barbara for not maintaining their sewer lines, thus causing leaks...or spills..
now I know Channel Keepers has a few pampered princessses running it, and if I could bang some sense into them, I would...bang bang bang!! bang a gong!! and they always pull out slacker surfer Shaun Thompson as some sort of water expert!! The fact is the city already does tests and lab work and maintains sewer lines and that's what you pay taxes for..sewer lines occasionally back up because of stuff that people throw in there, grease, rags, or whatever..that's why the city has a few vactors.. huge high pressure cleaning trucks..that's why they have a maintenance crew..and that's why they 
replace lines as needed, or on a schedule of some sort...
ok, so I hope a judge throws out this latest lawsuit..I wouldn't trust Channel Keepers to wash my laundry let alone tell me when and where I should go to the beach..I go to the beach when I say, not when they say! Their warnings and numbers don't mean squat to me because they are not a legit agency..
now let's get real: Heal the Ocean was on a similar tear a few years ago, blaming the city for polluting the beaches...at least HTO is willing to admit when it's wrong and get their facts straight...
the city is not in business to pollute the beaches, that's why they own a treatment plant and staff it with professionals...
in 2007:
city officials say the sewage overflows are not the result of neglect or age. Monday’s spill was caused by private sewage cleanings, which are encouraged through a city-sponsored rebate system. More often than not, plumbers will clear tree roots from around private sewage lines, and flush them through the public system, which causes problems down the line when pipes make sharp turns.
After Monday’s spill, D&C Superintendent Romero said the pipes were inspected with cameras and no structural damage was found, leading him to believe the spill was caused by roots.
"Our data shows that we’ve never had a blockage or overflow on this particular section of sewer drain," he said.
here's a snippet from a story by Melinda Burns back when the N-P had real writers: ok, so citizens’ groups such as Heal the Ocean have long suggested that the city’s aging sewer system was leaking into the ground water and travelling underground into the surf. But preliminary results from the study, which is funded in part by Heal the Ocean, suggest that city sewers are not to blame, the authors say. John Izbicki, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hydrologist from San Diego who heads the study, said that hundreds of samples taken from 13 ground water wells, Mission Creek and the ocean for more than two years do not show that city sewers are polluting the ground water.
and if you see osprey in the area, plucking fish from the sea, that's good indicator that the water environment is quite healthy!
There are many factors that can influence the concentration of bacteria in a sample of water," said Alexandria B. Boehm, the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford and lead author of the ES&T study. After conducting extensive field studies of Southern California beaches, Boehm is extending her research to the sandy shores of Northern California not far from the Stanford campus.
"A lot of water sampling is done once a day, but there usually is a one- to four-day delay between the time a sample is taken and testing results are known," she explained. "In our study, we found that a lot of pollution events last just one day or one hour, so the problem is likely to have passed by the time a warning sign is posted."
The result, Boehm said, is that people may be barred from swimming at beaches that are actually clean, while contaminated beaches may be inadvertently kept open, exposing swimmers, snorkelers and surfers to a wide range of illnesses -- some producing mild symptoms (such as chills, fevers and upset stomachs) and some that are potentially lethal (including hepatitis and meningitis). Beach closures also can have a serious economic impact on restaurants, shops and other local businesses.
"Decisions to post or close a beach should not be based on the concentration of indicator bacteria in a single grab sample," Boehm noted. "It's not that the single sample standard doesn't protect people, it also overprotects them and says the beaches are dirty when they're not."
so the bottom line is the ocean is safe for me even though I understand and have signed a document which states that the ocean is full of fish, mammals, birds that die and produce waste and is not a pristine environment...birds that crap on the beach, at the shoreline, in the seaweed can add to elevated bacteria levels and shut down beaches!! do you think I'm gonna stop going to the beach because a seagull craps on me?? no way!!
and unless there is a giant malfunction at the plant which is unlikely due to the many back up functions, then I will continue to enjoy the ocean while Channel Keepers, a tax-exempt non-profit, keeps selling fear.....and collecting money.... to file frivolous lawsuits..and the rate payers will have to pick up the tab....
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