New projects that aim to bring much needed water supplies to the west side are scrambling for financing.
Katherine Peach / Special to the Malibu Times
Increased mandatory water conservation for the City of Malibu will mean rising water prices and drastic water saving measures this year. Solutions to boost water reserves for residents were major topics at a special joint meeting of the Malibu Public Works and Public Safety commissions last week Wednesday.
Representatives from Metropolitan Water District 29, which services Malibu and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, were present at the meeting to relay assessments concerning water supplies and project funding.
A 5 percent water allocation for the district is the lowest initial allocation in history from the state, said Greg Even, senior civil engineer for Los Angeles County Waterworks District. Although the district met and exceeded last year’s mandatory decrease of 15 percent in water usage, Even said supplies are still dropping as population growth increases. Even said the low supplies normally increase during the year, allowing the distributor to reanalyze supplies for the district.
“They are charging us more money for the water we give to you,” Even said. “We either go bankrupt because we don’t have the funds to pay for the additional cost for that water or pass on the additional cost to the customers. For every single unit that everybody uses, it now costs more.”
A five-year plan for water allocation for Malibu calls for stricter distribution of the city’s imported water, district representatives said.
Several projects are aimed to increase water storage and restore damaged or outdated pipelines. Rebates are available to residents to encourage conservation to meet the mandatory restriction goals. At this point, Even said there are no further incentives to limit usage beyond the rate limits due to pressure from fixed rates. However, a three-tier billing system ensures steep rate hikes, up to three times the current rate, to discourage individual overages in water use.
The West Basin Metropolitan Water District receives water from the major distributor to the region, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. West Basin MWD acts as an intermediary to District 29, which then distributes water to Malibu. Las Virgenes Municipal Water District provides service to more than 60,000 residents and emergency service to Westside residents, including Malibu.
The City of Malibu imports all potable water and nearby resources are overwhelmed with demand, the representatives said. Las Virgenes MWD is pretty much maxed out due to larger population and limited pipe service, David Lippman, director of Las Virgenes MWD, said. Unfortunately, when emergency service is needed, it typically happens during peak demand when resources are already strained, Lippman said.
Malibu relies on the 53 water storage tanks within the district that hold about two and a half days of water. One of the prime reasons for storage is to prevent water pressure failure during an emergency, Daniel Lafferty, representative from Los Angeles Department of Public Works, said. Lafferty explained that certain technical and geographical issues restrict further storage expansion. Also, the district’s water system is designed for emergency structure fire usage, Lafferty said, not brush fires. In 1993, intense fires caused power outages, which impeded water service in certain areas. Lafferty said electronic systems are now in place to monitor critical reserves and to keep water flowing when there are major brush fires.
Proposed water projects
A proposed Sweet Water Mesa system project would construct a one-million-gallon tank and 5,000 feet of pipe to feed water to Sweetwater Mesa, Serra Road and Civic Center systems. The $5 million project is subject to a loan from the state and approximately $1.5 million in water district support to complete the project. Financing is the major issue to get new projects started and current projects completed.
One current project of public concern is fixing the movement from landslides of a main water pipeline along Pacific Coast Highway. Lafferty said an automatic valve is in place to isolate any water loss due to a breakage, with a temporary bypass to allow one-third of the flow to customers. Emergency contractors have been hired to fix the average one leak per year for the past 20 years, but he said the district is looking at more permanent measures for the pipeline.
“Either we have environmental issues or really high costs,” Lafferty said. “If it’s not one thing it’s another. Caltrans is out there trying to put in more pavement to replace what has disappeared or there is mounding in some places and there are dips in other places.”
Regular capital improvement revenues will fund various projects in the area, including the Trancas water main replacement project, which would replace 500 feet of aging and undersized water line along Pacific Coast Highway. Plans are in place to improve the existing Sepulveda feeder interconnection for delivery to the district’s western boundary. Other future projects are contingent on special low-cost loans from the state and outside funding.