A more in depth look at Site AT1: Atascadero Creek at Ward Drive.
An excerpt from our October 2003 newsletter

Where is it?

Atascadero Creek, combining four major tributaries (Atascadero, Cieneguitas, Maria Ygnacio and San Jose creeks), runs from east to west through Goleta into the Goleta Slough. If you bicycle along the Coast Route, you will recognize Atascadero Creek, which runs adjacent to the bike path for several miles. We sample several sites on this creek; AT1 is the lowermost, the closest to the Slough and ocean. To get there from Hollister Rd., turn towards the ocean on Ward Drive. Go all the way to the end of Ward Drive and park on the side of the road. Walk past the road barrier and across the bike path, and Atascadero Creek will be straight in front of you. Our sampling site is a short distance to your left (upstream), above the small concrete dam.

What is unique about this site?

Atascadero is the largest creek in the Santa Barbara area and the greatest exporter of nutrients and sediment into the ocean. At AT1, we sample above a small concrete dam, separating fresh creek water from the tidal influenced and brackish Goleta Slough (the term “brackish” refers to a mixture of salt and fresh water). This is the end point of Atascadero’s route to the ocean and sampling here allows us to evaluate its total contribution. With additional sampling sites upstream, we can also monitor how water quality is affected throughout the creek’s passage through urban development in Goleta and Santa Barbara. There is appreciable agricultural use along the creek between AT1 and the next upstream sampling location at Patterson. Comparing these two sites helps evaluate any agricultural inputs and the affect of the small concrete dam (which turns this section of the creek into a long skinny lake).

Results at this site:

Ponded water behind the concrete dam at AT1 usually encourages the growth of algae and plants. This tends to increase turbidity and cause noticeable daily fluctuations in dissolved oxygen. Ducks and other wildlife using the “pond” cause high bacteriological counts, but this is the only site in the Goleta survey that meets California swimming standards for enterococcus. Nutrients tend to be very low during summers (lots of uptake by plants and algae), but very high in winter (urban and agricultural storm runoff). Conductivity and dissolved solids are far above drinking water standards due to chemical interactions within the thick sediments that lay at the bottom of the ponded area.