As I slowly moved through traffic on PCH last week, I noticed the new highway signage saying, “Please conserve water.” I’m not sure who is responsible for the much-needed signage, but it did get me thinking. Malibu has always had a very serious water supply issue. Our city is required to maintain a three day supply of stored water but the last I heard, we were storing more like 12 hours worth of water due to over demand. A few years ago, we all experienced a water shortage (no water) when there was a pipe break, which thankfully was fixed within 48 hours.
Every new large over-landscaped home approved and built in Malibu further negatively impacts our fragile water supply. Now Malibu faces the largest development agreement in its history with approximately 600,000 square feet of new commercial and residential development proposed for our Civic Center and the Trancas area. The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on this development agreement minimally addressed the water issue and impact from the increased development and yet we are being asked to vote on it this November.
Now we are being encouraged to conserve water. What is our city government doing to address this obvious water weakness in our city infrastructure? If our water situation is so fragile that a pipe break can leave us dry and vulnerable for over 24 hours, why are we further taxing our pipeline and supply with new development? We all should “please conserve water ” but should require our city government to do the same when considering any new private and commercial development. Until we know we have a better water system and necessary supply, we need to vote “no” in November on the Malibu Bay Company Development Agreement.
Efrom Fader