Elings Park Remediation

The City monitors levels of methane gas around the perimeter of the former landfill, including buildings located inside and outside of the landfill area. Groundwater, creek, and surface water are also monitored by staff. These monitoring efforts are mandated by the County of Santa Barbara and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. 

The City conducts monitoring, operates the Landfill Gas Management System (LGMS), and reports to regulatory agencies. Methane is monitored to ensure none is moving beyond the landfill perimeter. Methane production is a normal feature of old landfills, but due to the age of the landfill at Elings Park, methane production is in its last stages. Groundwater and surface water are monitored to ensure there is no leaching of contaminants from the landfill. 

The Elings Park Foundation works diligently to follow Best Management Practices to prevent water from pooling after rain events. The City monitors the site to ensure the layer of compacted soil placed on top (cap) of the closed landfill remains intact and continues to meet environmental regulations. Over time, weather and stormwater runoff can gradually wear down parts of the cap, which may affect the soil layer. When this happens, maintenance and repairs are carried out to restore the cap’s effectiveness. These repairs usually involve adding soil to rebuild the layers, installing erosion-control netting to help stabilize the surface, and planting native vegetation to strengthen the soil and reduce the risk of future erosion.

Local author and Elings Park Foundation board member Bruce Griffin's book, A Bobcat's Tail, tells the story of Jerry Harwin, who in the 1970s and 1980s hiked in Las Positas Canyon, then the city's landfill. After helping a sick bobcat, he was inspired to lead an effort to turn the area into a community park. The story follows Jerry and local children as they work to create the park.

Bruce Griffin says, “As a 5-year-old, I rode in the back of my uncle’s pickup truck to the Santa Barbara landfill, which introduced me to what would become Elings Park. Over the years, I wanted to show kids and their parents how a community can come together to create something amazing. Jerry Harwin’s and Puff’s story makes it simple for kids to understand how the park came to be and how they can make a difference.”