The city’s purchase of the Chili Cook-Off site might not be enough to satisfy Malibu’s goal for a wastewater/storm water treatment program that would curb pollution of the city’s watershed. The head consultant on the project, Steve Clary, said at a joint session of the City Council and Planning Commission last week that wastewater treated through the system would need to be fully dispersed on land, and there is not enough room on the approximately 15 acres of the undeveloped Chili Cook-Off site.
“We need every acre you currently own, and some more,” Clary said.
Clary said there are options in addition to finding new land, such as using the shoulders of Civic Center Way, which he said would need to be widened for that purpose. City Manager Jim Thorsen said in an interview on Tuesday that it could be possible to have the treated wastewater travel to the city-owned Bluffs Park or to residential areas.
“That is something that is still being laid out, where the wastewater is going and how much of it,” Thorsen said.
The Regional Water Quality Board, or RWQCB, has placed tight restrictions on the amount of nitrogen pollutants from wastewater that can enter the watershed of Malibu and other local areas.
A wastewater treatment facility has been proposed for a two-acre portion of a property owned by Pepperdine University located behind the county-owned courthouse property. Pepperdine has offered to donate the land in exchange for mild development perks on the remainder of the site. However, Thorsen said on Tuesday it is not guaranteed that is where the facility would be placed.
The plant would collect wastewater from various nearby sources. It would then be treated, and must be dispersed somewhere on land.
“You can’t swim in it [treated wastewater],” said Clary about the treated wastewater. “You can’t drink it. You can’t bathe in it. You can sprinkle your yard with it. You can hose the street with it, and use it on golf courses and other public areas.”
The amount of wastewater that could be dispersed onto the Chili Cook-Off site would depend on how much of the property would be used for storm water management. Clary recommended the city build a three quarters of an acre or 1.5-acre pond area that would capture the storm water, preventing it from running off into the Malibu watershed. The pond, in addition to the recently built Civic Center storm water treatment facility, would place the city in 98 percent compliance with the RWQCB’s limits on the amount of bacterial impact from storm water that can enter a watershed per day. In order to reach 100 percent, the larger 1.5-acre pond, or what is called a subsurface-flow wetland, would need to be built.
But Clary said being 98 percent compliant was good enough, since it would only make the city unable to satisfy the laws in the most extreme and rare conditions. He said with storm conditions like that, the RWQCB would be dealing with much greater matters, so the city would not be in danger of being fined.
Clary also said that building a larger wastewater management area would mean having additional land that could not be used for wastewater dispersal. “Every acre that we can’t use for Legacy Park is going to force us to find that acre off the park for dispersal.”
The Legacy Park pond would receive the storm water through the same drainage system delivering it to the existing Civic Center storm water treatment facility. The storm water would bypass the facility once the plant had reached its maximum capacity, and travel to Legacy Park. In the current proposal, the actual pond would be an approximately two-foot hole, and would be filled by storm water to create the actual pond. That water would eventually travel to the treatment facility. During the dry season, the pond area would remain unfilled.
Also during last Thursday’s meeting, the basics of what Legacy Park could, like as a whole was discussed. Landscape Architect Barbara Lundburg spoke about having paths that could go through the wetland area, with places for displays and exhibits. She also said there would be various native vegetation.
Additionally, a so-called linear park is planned, consisting of a pathway that would include new trails and current pieces of land allowing a person to walk to Bluffs Park from Legacy Park.
All Legacy Park discussion is still preliminary. Another meeting like last week’s will take place in July, and a third one is tentatively planned for the fall. Thorsen said on Tuesday that a draft environmental impact report could be ready for public review before the end of the year. A coastal development permit would be needed for the project, and Thorsen said the city hearing process could begin early next year if all goes smoothly, and construction of the park could begin prior to the conclusion of 2008.