As Malibu homeowners contemplate their increased property tax bills this fall, they may want to be wary of a possible future additional line cost for a massive new Malibu sewer system.
The City of Malibu was incorporated in 1991 to escape Los Angeles County’s growing over-development and the proposed sewers that would empower that growth. Regretfully, it looks like the sewer challenge is back to haunt us again, almost 17 years later. But this time, the sewer issue has been insidiously corrupted and re-branded as supposedly “clean waters” by our governmental agencies. These agencies are trying to blame our water woes on a variety of sources from over-watered lawns to septic tanks to boarded horses, none of which is officially documented. How can any of these ‘sources’ be more dangerous to water quality than massive over-development that comes with a master sewer system?
Two of the most polluted and contaminated beaches on the California coast are located in Malibu and it is no coincidence that both of these areas have sewage treatment plants upstream. Malibu Creek and Marie Canyon are areas where “tertiary-treated effluent” (i.e., supposedly clean water) from these sewage plants passes to our beaches, both of which continue to have failing water quality grades.
The building of a single master sewer system in Malibu creates a platform for increased commercial and residential development, increased density and congestion and a possible decrease of our property values and our quality of life. All this with no guarantee of improved water quality! A master sewage system can also present the danger of a “single source catastrophic disruption” event (such as New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina) that could bring massive pollution to our beaches.
Improving Malibu’s water quality can be effectively and efficiently achieved through independent gravity septic treatment systems geared toward Malibu’s present size and development needs. We need to call our City Council, Los Angeles County Regional Water Quality Control Board and the State of California and tell them we intend to keep our recreational waters and beaches safe, truly clean and sewage-free for Malibu residents and visiting public. We need to insist that our present and future City Council members commit to opposing the creation of a sewer system that enables over-development, higher property taxes and diluted property values, and a decline in our precious quality of life.
Dr. Daniel Hillman
John Ridgway