Site LC1: Los Carneros Creek
at Hollister Avenue

From Hollister Avenue, turn toward the ocean on Aero Camino then make an immediate left on the frontage road. Park near the small bridge that crosses Los Carneros Creek. From the bridge, look to the right and you can see where the creek empties into Goleta Slough. We want to sample on the left side of the bridge, before the creek meets the Slough. Sampling at this site is difficult because there is no easy access down to the creek from the bridge. Lower a sampling bucket down to the creek to collect samples and test from the bucket. We sample at two sites along this creek; this is the lowermost (downstream) site. At this point, Los Carneros Creek is a cement channel containing little or no vegetation, but some sediment. Businesses and parking lots line both sides of the creek just above this spot, and the lower part of this creek runs through the Santa Barbara Airport. During the dry season this site often has very low flow and cannot be sampled. Los Carneros and Tecolotito creeks are the most important water sources for the Goleta Slough; the other tributaries enter too close to the mouth of the slough to provide much flow. Compared with Tecolotito, Los Carneros is relatively pristine, with limited agriculture and few commercial or residential areas in its watershed. Sampling at LC1, and at LC2, gives us a measure of the impact of Hwy. 101 on this important water source.

Go upstream to Site LC2
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