As a geologist, I am frequently in the field drilling and installing groundwater wells in different parts of California, including Santa Barbara. Though the groundwater beneath many of these sites was contaminated decades ago, the remediation or “clean up” continues to this day.
I am reminded of
what Annie Leonard said during the 50th Anniversary of the Santa Barbara Oil
Spill commemoration in Santa Barbara last January: “What do we do when we find ourselves in a
hole? Stop digging.”
The City of Santa
Barbara does not drink from its groundwater. But Santa Maria
does. The water that sits beneath Cat Canyon connects to the Santa Maria
groundwater basin, which supplies thousands of people with drinking water. This
is same basin that ERG, AERA and Petro Rock oil companies want to drill through
to install 750 new oil wells.