The Lompoc City Council approved a $400,000 contract on Oct. 16 with a company tasked with cleaning the Santa Ynez Riverbed, which is filled with several tons of trash left by recently removed homeless encampments.
The city has been working with Qwikresponse, a Southern California-based company that specializes in hazardous and biohazardous materials removal, since Sept. 22 in an effort to clean the riverbed, according to Lompoc Public Information Officer Samantha Scroggin.
The 3-mile stretch of riverbed that until recently hosted a large number of homeless individuals is now vacated and filled with "hundreds of tons of trash" and debris, according to a city staff report. Qwikresponse, which was chosen for its ability and expertise in removing waste materials and performing large-scale cleanups of vacated homeless encampments in natural environments, has already begun work removing trash from the riverbed and transporting it to the city's landfill.
The process is expected to take about 40 days and possibly more than $400,000.
If more time and funding are needed, staff will return to Lompoc City Council with a progress update and a new completion and cost estimate, according to the staff report.
The city, which is working with Santa Barbara County on a cost-sharing partnership for the cleanup of the riverbed, is requesting state and federal funding to help offset the cleanup costs.
