Water Quality Enforcement Program

To report pollution in the street, storm drain, or creek,
please call the Enforcement Hotline at (805) 897-2688.

The City of Santa Barbara has a system of regulations to protect its waterways and the ocean from pollution and degradation.  These rules can be found in the City’s Municipal Code (Title 16) and cover an array of concerns including, but not limited to, waste disposal, construction responsibilities, and drainage connections.

The Creeks Division also receives reports of violations of Chapter 14 of the SBMC Municipal Code, which prohibits obstructions in the creeks.  Debris, garbage, rubbish, trash, brush, timber, waste products, or any combustible or incombustible material, which obstructs, prevents, diverts or tends to obstruct, prevent or divert the normal, natural or ordinary flow of water may all be considered obstructions.  This chapter of the SBMC also prohibits obstructions that result from placing fill material in a creek or from constructing buildings or structures in the creeks.

Exemptions:

The Municipal Code does exempt some discharges from the general prohibition.  These include uncontaminated discharges from:  landscape irrigation, water line flushing, potable water sources, foundation drains, footing drains, air conditioning condensate, lawn watering, crawl space pumps, individual residential automobile washing, and street washing, including sidewalk washing.

Staffing and Coordination:

Illicit discharges and creek obstructions are detected and reported by Creeks Division staff, other City and County staff, as well as community members who call the enforcement line (897-2688).  The enforcement line is monitored during the Creeks Division’s regular business hours.

Presently, the Creeks Division has one Code Enforcement Officer responding to the majority of illicit discharge and obstruction reports.  Three additional staff members are trained and available to respond to reports when needed.

The Creeks Division coordinates enforcement efforts with Environmental Services, Wastewater, Building & Safety, and other City staff who enforce other sections of the SBMC.  The Creeks Division also coordinates with County Project Clean Water staff when cases fall outside of the City limits.

Response:

When violations are reported, Creeks Division staff investigates to assess whether the discharge is a violation of the SBMC.  Staff’s goal is to respond as quickly as possible after the report of a violation is received in order to observe the violation while it is still occurring. 

When staff observes a discharge occurring, enforcement involves communicating to those responsible for the discharge (discharger) that their actions are a violation of the SBMC.  Staff requires the discharger to immediately abate the discharge when possible and almost always stays on-site until the discharge is abated.  In rare instances staff is unable to stop a discharge and staying on-site does not help to achieve abatement.

Creating an Enforcement Case -- Issuing a Notice of Violation:

When evidence of a Municipal Code violation is observed, staff sends a Notice of Violation (NOV) warning letter (1^st offense within 12 months) or a citation (2^nd+ offense within 12 months) to the property owner where the discharge occurred, and copies of the letter are sent to any tenants or contractors involved.

In most cases there is no abatement deadline, since violations are almost always abated while staff is present.  When there is an abatement deadline (generally for obstruction violations), the time period ranges from 2-7 days depending on the violation and estimated time for cleanup.  An Administrative Citation can be issued if the abatement deadline given in the NOV is not met and/or it is a documented repeat violation.  The fine structure of the Administrative Citation Program is shown in the table below.

Many enforcement responses that are investigated do not result in a Notice of Violation.  Reasons for this can include:

1. No violation was found.  The discharge is exempt under the municipal code such as air conditioning condensate or residential car washing.
2. The discharger cannot be found.  Illegal dumping cases make up a majority of these instances.
3. Violation falls under the jurisdiction of another department or agency and the case is transferred.

Tracking:

All reported violations are tracked in a spreadsheet and NOVs are tracked in a separate city-wide database system.

The table below shows enforcement data for Fiscal Year 2008, Fiscal Year 2009, and the first 5 months of Fiscal Year 2010.

For more information on the City’s Water Quality Enforcement Program, please contact Jim Rumbley, Code Enforcement Officer, at (805) 897-2688 or JRumbley@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Send messages and inquiries to Liz Smith