Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 recently released its list of projects to be completed over the next 12 years, and some Malibu residents are dissatisfied with how those projects have been prioritized—especially considering the number of upgrades previously suggested that are now no longer on the list.
District 29 held public meetings in Malibu and Topanga last week to collect input for a Draft Environmental Impact Report for the first eight projects in a long list of repairs needed for Malibu’s aging water infrastructure.
Several property owners and real estate agents representing property in the Encinal Canyon area expressed their frustration over District 29’s setting of project priorities.
Out of a list of 27 projects identified in 2016 as having the highest priority, the top 12 projects will take 12 years to complete based on current levels of funding. That means the remaining 15 projects, which include Encinal Highlands residential areas, are well over a decade away.
“Encinal Canyon cannot get building permits because for the past 10 years, the fire department has been saying we don’t meet the requirements [for fire protection],” one said. “Our neighborhood is frozen in time.”
They wanted to know why their neighborhood’s project did not make the top 12 list and how the priorities were set.
Adam Ariki, department of public works assistant deputy director, said there was a scoring criteria set up, and that’s how priorities were set for the order of projects. He then made it clear that new infrastructure is one of their lowest priorities.
“Water District 29’s priority is to maintain the existing system and service existing customers,” he said—emphasizing the word “existing.”
“Of secondary importance are infill lots and new developments,” Ariki continued. “We look at the most problematic areas [already in] the system.”
He justified the project of running a new pipeline up Encinal to connect to the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District as necessary for emergency preparedness—it would be Malibu’s source of water in case the main water line coming into Malibu from Culver City breaks.
The primary reason for the decades-long timeline to complete all the projects is a lack of funding. Back in 2012, District 29 identified $265 million worth of projects that needed to be done, but didn’t have the money to start them. They instituted a 30 percent rate hike that was phased in from 2013 to 2016.
The rate increases were needed not only to pay help for maintenance projects, but to keep District 29 from operating in the red due to higher electric bills (needed to run pumps) and increases in the cost of water from its sole supplier—the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
As a result of those rate increases, District 29 was able to set aside $5 million per year for the past five years for maintenance projects and has now accumulated $25 million.
“We’ve been actively looking for other funding,” Ariki said. “The top 27 projects will cost $110 million, but we want to use the $25 million we have now to get started.”
“At one point, we thought we’d get another $60 to $70 million from the state,” Ariki added, but so far that hasn’t happened. A year-and-a-half ago, he applied for a low-interest loan from the state, which still hasn’t been approved.
Although two dozen Malibu residents attended the meeting, including several environmental activists, none made public comments about environmental concerns for the projects, which involve replacing existing pipelines and water tanks along the same footprints they already have. There were minor concerns about dust, traffic and noise during the initial excavation and construction process, but the planning isn’t far enough along for District 29 to have any details on lane closures and related factors at this time.
The first 12 projects include pipeline improvements to Carbon Canyon/ Carbon Mesa, Coastline Drive, Zumirez Drive /Escondido Beach, PCH/ Topanga Beach Drive and Big Rock. Tank improvements will be made to Fernwood (Topanga), Owen and lower Busch Drive. The water main will be fortified at eight creek crossings on PCH, and the emergency water connection to Las Virgenes Municipal Water District will be built.
The county’s “Notice of Preparation of a Program Environmental Impact Report” documents can be viewed at the District 29 office at 23533 West Civic Center Way or online at lacwaterworks.org.