On Aug. 31 the Regional Water Quality Control board will meet in Pasadena to consider a request by Pepperdine University for rights to dump an additional 250,000 gallons of treated effluent per day into Marie Canyon and the bluffs above Malibu Road. This is on top of their normal discharge allowance.
The residents of Malibu Road have been concerned for many years about the effect this discharge is having on our neighborhood, our homes, the beach and the ocean. We are troubled by Pepperdine’s expansion plans and their inability or unwillingness to find an alternative solution for their excess waste water.
No other property owner in Malibu could reasonably expect to be granted permission to dump their overflow onto their neighbor’s property. Why is Pepperdine any different? We believe Pepperdine has the necessary storage capacity on its campus already, and if it does not, then it should be required to provide it immediately.
We are completely opposed to this institution, which chose not be part of our city, dumping its effluent into our city and onto its neighbors property. As well as destabilizing the already fragile bluffs, this waste water pollutes our ocean and environment and is a disgrace.
We encourage anyone who objects to this latest permit request being granted to write to the Regional Water Board to make their voice heard. Contact: Winnie D. Jesena, Chief, LA Coastal Water Shed Unit, California RWQCB, 320W. Fourth St, #200, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Fax: 213.576.6640.
Melanie Goudzwaard
President, Malibu Road Property Owners Association