As a representative of the surf community, I have been following this project for more than two decades. The project was done to enhance water quality and wildlife habitat in the western portions of Malibu Lagoon. No work was done in the creek, river mouth estuary area or along the beach. The project was designed to avoid beach erosion, to not change the way the sandbar opened or closed, or impact the surf.
The article incorrectly states the lagoon project is the cause of changes in water flow, increased erosion near Adamson House, and has screwed up the surf break. As a keen observer of the surf I can assure you these statements are false.
There are no negative changes to the surf. Since the project completion there has been no change in how often or how long the lagoon is opened or closed. The lagoon has opened every year naturally at either Third Point or Second Point, exactly where we want the breach in the sandbar. In my opinion this is a huge improvement.
The statement that the Lagoon was a fake restoration or is unsuccessful is patently untrue. Anyone can visit the study section of Ecomalibu.org and review scientific studies done between 2013 and 2015. Scientists have conducted intensive monitoring for the past four years to evaluate whether the Lagoon project is achieving restoration goals, and the data they collected shows the lagoon is performing better than expected.
The notoriously bad water quality at Surfrider beach is cleaner and has not been on Heal the Bay’s dirty beach list since 2012. Steelhead trout were recorded swimming in the lagoon for the first time ever. Birds like the Least Tern and Snowy Plover have successfully nested at Malibu Lagoon for the first time since the 1940s. There are now three Osprey Eagles residing in the lagoon area and the sewage smell, so closely associated with this area of Malibu, is gone.
Bob Purvey