The city is hiring a new employee to act as its point person on ocean-friendly gardens and water efficiency.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
The City of Malibu is looking to fill the newly created position of “Coastal Preservation Specialist,” thanks to a state grant program geared toward protecting California’s 34 state-designated Areas of Special Biological Significance, or ASBS. The person hired for this position will advise the city’s residents on ocean-friendly gardens and water usage.
The new position is expected to be added by October and will be funded through June 2014 with $140,000 of Proposition 84 state grant money.
“The goal is to have the grant fund the entire position,” Jennifer Brown, the city’s senior environmental coordinator, said.
If the city finds there is a benefit to having the position, Brown said it could keep the position after state grant funding expires by reshuffling other grant money within the city’s budget, or obtaining additional state funding.
The Coastal Preservation Specialist will serve as an ombudsman to residents in Malibu’s ASBS, which stretches from Latigo Point to Point Mugu, as well as educate residents about the city’s water-efficient landscape ordinance. The ordinance was passed in 2009 to promote water conservation in Malibu. A major portion of the job will be conducting community outreach to residents about the “Ocean Friendly Gardens” program sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation and the West Basin Municipal Water District.
That program, which is also funded by a state grant, is designed to reduce urban runoff and conserve water by 20 percent to 50 percent through the use of water controllers and ocean-friendly gardens, according to the water district’s Web site. Due to its location within the Malibu ASBS and the significant number of large lawns in the area, Point Dume has been selected as a test site for the program.
It is hoped the work of the Coastal Preservation Specialist will result in more residents taking advantage of the program. The more residents who participate, the more that water will be conserved, and less potentially contaminated runoff will reach the ocean in the Malibu ASBS, according to the city. If the program is successful, it could benefit future efforts by the city to obtain state grant funding for environmental projects.
“The state also likes to see when local agencies collaborate, and that gives you better standing to actually get awarded grant funding,” Brown said.
As part of the ocean-friendly gardens program, Point Dume residents with lawns larger than one acre in size are eligible for free “smart” irrigation controllers from the Surfrider Foundation and the water district. The controllers monitor weather and adjust when sprinklers go off based on the weather, and shut the sprinklers off when it rains. Gus Meza, who heads the program for the water district, said residents in the Point Dume area with lawns smaller than one acre may apply for rebates of up to $235 for the controllers by visiting the program’s Web site at bewaterwise.com.
The program also offers free classes to educate residents on ocean-friendly gardens. According to the municipal water district’s Web site, the gardens can lower contamination in the ocean by conserving water and preventing contaminated water from making its way to the ocean. Redesigning landscapes to incorporate native or climate-appropriate plants reduces water consumption. Laying out the garden in such a way that water permeates into the ground prevents it from running off site. The gardens also use retention devices such as rain chains and rain barrels, keeping the water in the ground during dry seasons or collecting it to water plants.
The program aims to save money through water conservation and reduce urban runoff, a major source of ocean pollution. Substances used in landscaping, such as pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers, as well as common contaminants such as motor oil and dog feces, can run off into the ocean during rain storms. The contaminants can also filter into the ocean during dry periods if sprinklers overwater lawns and run off the landscape. Additionally, gas-powered mowers and other lawn-maintenance machinery release pollutants into the air, which eventually settles into the water.
The City of Malibu is currently working with the Surfrider Foundation and the water district on building an ocean-friendly garden at Bluffs Park to use as an example for residents to see how the gardens could work on their own property.