Enjoy this great short video to learn more about our work.

We work on the water and in our community to monitor local waterways, restore aquatic ecosystems, advocate for clean water, enforce environmental laws, and educate and engage citizens in identifying and devising solutions to local water pollution problems. We are working hard to prevent the pollution of our local beaches, waterways and wetlands from urban runoff, sewage spills, agricultural operations, oil and gas production, and large municipal and industrial dischargers.

Channelkeeper was founded in September 1999 as a program of the Environmental Defense Center, and we became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in January 2002. We are a member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance, which now has more than 175 members worldwide (more about Waterkeepers). We are also a member of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, a coalition of 12 California Waterkeepers working to strengthen water quality protections at the state level.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper employs the same hands-on grassroots form of pollution prevention and community involvement that is the hallmark of Waterkeeper organizations across the globe. We were the 33rd approved Waterkeeper in the United States and the seventh in California.