Initial testing will take place once a week for the next 10 weeks; samples will be tested to determine whether bacterial pollution is human related.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The investigation into just who, and what, is polluting Malibu’s watershed begins this week. Members of the North Santa Monica Bay Source Identification Task Force were scheduled on Tuesday to take the first water samples from 27 “hotspots” in the Escondido Beach and Paradise Cove areas as part of a $1 million study.
The study, which is a project of Los Angeles County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe, received international attention last fall when it was first announced. The story that DNA testing would be conducted to determine what individuals, possibly Malibu celebrities, were polluting the water became big news in both the tabloid and mainstream media. Yaroslavsky held a press conference in October to clarify that that was not exactly the case. Testing will be done to determine whether certain bacteria are human related or animal related, and no resident would be asked to submit their DNA.
The 27 beach, stream and creek locations were selected, according to officials, based on their location within the Malibu watershed. Approximately half the locations are on public property, and the rest are private. County officials say they have notified the private property owners and obtained permission to enter their sites.
The initial testing will be done once a week for 10 weeks. It will be conducted again in September over a five-week period. The water samples will be sent to an independent laboratory for testing, where it will be determined whether the bacteria is human-related. This includes human waste as well as common household products and pet-related bacteria. It would then be determined where the bacteria originates through “additional upstream and downstream testing,” according to the project’s Web site.
A presentation on the project was made to the City Council at its meeting on Monday. Mayor Ken Kearsley said the water near his home would be included in the test.
“It’s going to solve a big mystery in Malibu, and settle it once and for all,” Kearsley said.
He continued, “This is not a big search and destroy thing. This is not a big brother thing. It is simply a study.”
Legacy Park donors recognized amongst controversy
Also at the meeting, the council recognized several of the major donors toward the city’s purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site. Kearsley said he hoped that the people would also give money toward the city’s plan to turn the site into a park and make it part of a wastewater/ storm water treatment program. The recognition ceremony follows recent exchanges in The Malibu Times’ Letters to the Editor section between city officials and members of the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy. MCLC President Steve Uhring alleged that the organization, which donated $500,000 (the largest amount) to the city for the land purchase, was not recognized on a sign that listed all the donors. The sign appeared at a recent city-sponsored event at the Chili Cook-Off site. City officials said the MCLC was listed on the sign, but just not with the other big money donors.
Two days after the event where the sign appeared, Malibu’s public relations officer Susan Shaw brought the sign to The Malibu Times office to prove MCLC’s name appeared on it. Although all the names were grouped in order based on the size of donations, MCLC was listed last, behind the people who donated the least amount of money, in slightly larger letters. Shaw explained that this was a mistake, and the MCLC name was supposed to appear across the bottom of the sign in significantly larger letters.
Although this issue did not come up during the meeting, a heated discussion did take place later when Uhring addressed the council, asking for more information about the city’s plan for the development of the park. He said he needed to know this so he could tell people who were donating to the MCLC. The MCLC plans to give the money it receives from its donors to the city for the development of the park. Barovsky said it would be better for people to give directly to the city rather than donate to the MCLC. Uhring interrupted Barovsky and said, “Sharon, come on.”
Barovsky later said, “This kind of competition in fundraising causes confusion on who gave what, who should be honored.”
A joint meeting of the Planning Commission and the City Council will take place on April 19 to discuss the development of the Chili Cook-Off site, which will be known, after the project is complete, as Legacy Park.
Green Machine on fundraising campaign
Another fundraising issue was also the subject of discussion at Monday’s meeting. Members of the Malibu Green Machine, a nonprofit group that is preparing a project to beautify the medians on Pacific Coast Highway from Cross Creek Road to Malibu Canyon Road, gave a report on its fundraising efforts. Cross Creek Plaza owner Steve Soboroff said approximately $900,000 still needs to be raised toward the proposed $1.5 million project. He had received several large donations from local commercial property owners, including himself, Richard Weintraub and Michael Koss. He said he had received another large anonymous donation, and added that he would avoid interfering with the city’s effort to raise money for the Legacy Park project.
Green Machine President Jo Giese said she hoped construction on the median beautification could begin in December or January.