The most recent Planning Commission meeting was especially entertaining because it illustrated one of Malibu’s more nagging problems, the tendency of people to air their concerns regarding matters about which they are half-smart. During the public hearing segment, which some have uncharitably suggested be called the Norm Haney hour, Mr. Haney, never at a loss for words, offered his lengthy opinion that it is not a good thing for the water main at Las Tuna Beach to break, as it did some months ago at the highway “hump,” because this is the source of Malibu’s water. He asserted that this should be avoided in the future, although he was a little unclear on exactly how that might be done. He was followed by a series of telephone comments, also lengthy, from vacationing Commissioner Joan House, who, if I understood her correctly, was concerned that there should be more storage facilities high enough to supply the Civic Center with water under pressure if another break occurs.
I then was disconcerted to hear various comments and questions from the attending Commissioners just as though they thought what Haney and House had said made much sense. See, the “hump” is due to movement along the western contact of the Las Tunas Beach landslide which is prehistoric and was reactivated in 1978. The water main lies buried across the contact, and when the slide moves, it stresses the main. There are two solutions to this. One, put the main on the surface fitted with a flexible coupling, keeping in mind that any engineer from WW29 or CalTrans who says this can’t be done has his head somewhere besides on his shoulders. Or, stabilize the slide by installing dewatering wells along the northern side of the highway. The cost of either solution would be a small fraction of the repair cost the last time the main broke. As to House’s concern about elevated storage sites, that problem was solved years ago. Elevation is not a concern, because there are booster pumps that work just fine.
It is not a matter of whether the water main problem can be fixed. Why hasn’t it been? That is the subject upon the Commissioners and Haney should spend their time.
Don Michael