Urgent dredging in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh creates protections from flooding

CARPINTERIA, Calif. - Rather than run the risk of a big rain and a high tide hitting at once and causing possible flooding, an urgent project is underway to clear silt out of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh.

The project is well underway, and the work already done shows how risky the buildup of runoff of mountain material can be. Eventually it is supposed to get to the ocean naturally but this project is speeding it up.

The materials came down in the aggressive winter storms with some of the strongest rain the area has seen in year.

Crews are working around the clock with a special dredging rig that sucks up the silt and moves it to the shoreline for the currents to disperse. A safety area on both sides of the dredge pipe is off limits to the public just to the west of Carpinteria City Beach and Ash Ave.

The dredging is also helping the habitat which includes marine and other wildlife.

For now hiking trails in the area are closed.

The work should conclude in July.

(More details, photos and video will be added here later today.)