The Montecito Sanitary District has unanimously approved its first sewer rate adjustment in seven years, adopting a phased five-year plan designed to address aging infrastructure and ensure long-term system reliability. The decision followed a public hearing on June 10 and was informed by the MSD’s first comprehensive sewer rate study in more than a decade. […]
On Tuesday, June 2, the Montecito Association Land Use Committee tackled two significant projects in the works for Montecito: the Randall Road Debris Basin and the development project proposed for the Montecito Sanitary District, both of which are in the comment period of their respective environmental documents. The Land Use Committee held a Q&A session […]
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Just how many Montecito residents have the dreaded coronavirus, aka COVID-19? Or to put it another way: Just how much COVID-19 is in Montecito’s collective supply of excreta? Thanks to an ongoing COVID-19 tracing project by Dr. Patricia Holden, a professor of environmental microbiology at UC Santa Barbara, and the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD), we […]
Earlier this year, before the COVID-19 emergency, I took a tour of the Montecito Sanitary District’s waste treatment facility, where the town’s collective fecal matter is slowly bio-engineered into top-notch soil fertilizer that ends up on the shelves of our local gardening emporiums (see “Montecito’s Most Unusual Harvest,” Montecito Journal, February 12). Part of my […]
On Tuesday, April 7, the Montecito Association Land Use Committee met via Zoom to discuss an upcoming project in Montecito: a proposed project by the Montecito Sanitary District that includes a new 5,000-sq-ft Essential Services building with a new 17-space parking lot, lighting and landscaping, multiple solar canopies, and a new recycled water treatment system, […]
The provision of safe water, sanitation, and hygienic conditions is essential to protecting human health during any infectious disease outbreak, including the current 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Montecito Water District (MWD) is prepared for the rapidly evolving situation and is actively monitoring guidance from local, national, and global health organizations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) […]
On Tuesday, March 17, the Montecito Association Board of Directors met via teleconference. The Board discussed a proposed project by the Montecito Sanitary District that includes a new 5,000-sq-ft Essential Services Building with a new 17-space parking lot, multiple solar canopies, and a new recycled water treatment system, as well as demolition of the existing […]
The Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) was formed in 1947 with the sole purpose of collecting, treating and disposing of the community’s wastewater, but it didn’t actually come online as a completed sewage system and treatment facility until the early 1960s. Today, the MSD serves approximately 3,100 customers in Montecito, with only a scattered number of […]
When my wife, Carolyn, and I moved to Montecito, a primary goal of ours was to volunteer and give back to the community. We have since given of our time to local nonprofits and community organizations supporting the community of Montecito. When told of an opening on the Montecito Sanitary District Board, I expressed that […]
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by Woody Barrett, Dana Newquist, Ken Coates, Brian Goebel and Cori Hayman The Montecito Water and Sanitary Districts are defined as special districts, each led by a five-person, publicly elected board of directors. According to the handbook for special district governance and operations, board members must “serve the best interests of the community, provide services […]
I am running for the Board of Directors of the Montecito Sanitary District because I want our neighborhoods to have a diversified and secure source of water for the safety and well-being of our community. Montecito deserves water security. Our family has called Montecito home going on 18 years. Our children all attended Montecito Union […]
A few years ago, Jean Paul Cousteau spoke at a CASA Conference (California Association of Sanitation Agencies). He said that he was one person who could claim that he was raised on the Seven Seas. He was home-schooled by his mother on the Calypso. He said that it was always a thrill to come into […]
On November 6, Montecito voters will go to the polls. This year’s ballot contains an extreme rarity: a contested election for the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Board of Directors. For the first time in anyone’s memory, voters will choose among four different candidates running for two MSD seats. Why is this unusual? Because since 2000, […]
At their meeting on September 17, the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) Governing Board received a report from its Public Information Committee, which comprises board members Bob Williams and Jeff Kerns. The committee met on September 14 to discuss concerns regarding information that has been in the press and in paid ads that make it appear […]






