More than 30 years after Malibu residents got together and formed a city, mainly to stop sewers and wild development, leaders in the coastal community are chitchatting about putting in a sewer system. The Malibu City Council has requested a first look at how to build and fund a sewer line along Pacific Coast Highway, servicing a nearly four-mile stretch of coast where 327 homes went up in flames during the January wildfire.
While Malibu’s leaders and citizens are still all about controlled growth, they think there might be a way to construct a sewer without paving the way for massive development, and also making sure that human waste doesn’t end up in the ocean. Water quality officials have been griping for a long time that septic systems in Malibu weren’t cutting it when it came to controlling sewage, letting pathogens seep into groundwater and then into local creeks and Santa Monica Bay.
All the homes that were destroyed on the coast highway were using outdated septic systems, which would be swapped out for a sewer system if the city decides to go ahead with the plan. A secure sewer main that carries human waste to a treatment plant would lessen the risk posed by leaky septic tanks and leach fields — an upgrade that Malibu City Council members are hoping to achieve, if possible.
However, the majority of the council has made it clear that they won’t give the green light to a sewer if they think it will slow down the rebuilding of homes along PCH or open the door to hotels, apartments, and “Miami Beach”-style development. That’s exactly what the cityhood supporters were against when they pushed for Malibu incorporation back in 1990.
When the first Malibu City Council took over in 1991, they quickly ditched a plan from Los Angeles County for sewers. Since then, most Malibu leaders have been very cautious about allowing any construction that would clash with the community’s semi-rural roots. But the January fire has forced a rethink on many issues, prompting council members to seriously think about a sewer to a degree that hasn’t been seen in Malibu’s 34-year history.
“I think we should do everything we can to put the sewer in [and] figure out how to get it paid for,” Councilman Steve Uhring said at a recent public hearing. “That’s what Malibu is about. We are supposed to protect the environment [and] that’s the best way to do it.”
Uhring and his colleagues on the council are determined that the new sewer will only serve the existing homes and businesses along the burned zone — from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to Carbon Canyon Road.
“There is the ever-present concern that [a sewer] is going to open the way, even in that limited area, for greater development than was intended,” Councilman Bruce Silverstein mentioned in an interview. Councilman Doug Stewart also pitched in, suggesting that by limiting the sewer’s capacity, “we can make sure we don’t get high-density apartment buildings or hotels along the coast. This would be to put people back in the homes they had before.”
Added Stewart: “We have to be careful we don’t ruin the environment by trying to protect it.”
Mayor Marianne Riggins and Councilwoman Haylynn Conrad are on board with studying the possibility of, as Conrad put it in a newspaper column, “the S-word.” But there are still many questions left unanswered: Where would the waste from a PCH sewer be treated? Who would foot the bill for the project? And how would waste from coastal homes be managed during the five years or more it would take to finish the project?
Malibu Public Works Director Rob DuBoux recently laid out four sewer treatment options for the City Council, along with a fifth choice that would let homeowners keep and upgrade their onsite waste treatment systems. The city lawmakers seem to be leaning towards the option that DuBoux thinks could be completed the quickest and at the lowest cost. This plan would involve laying a sewer line under PCH to the Los Angeles sewer that runs up the highway to close to Coastline Drive, over a mile from Malibu’s eastern border.
DuBoux estimates that this project would cost $124 million and take five years and five months to complete, although he admits that more detailed plans and projections need to be worked out. Malibu would seek grants and loans to try and bring down the cost. Some property owners who lost their homes in the fire believe that the sewer could be a more affordable alternative to fixing their septic systems. Regional water quality officials are adamant that the systems need to be updated and adequately protected from the encroaching ocean.
Estimated costs for new septic systems and protective seawalls have skyrocketed to $500,000 and beyond, according to homeowners. On the other hand, if the city formed an assessment district and charged homeowners for tying into the Hyperion system, the cost per property would come to $269,000, according to DuBoux.
“This is the … best, easiest solution to do,” DuBoux stated during a public hearing. Silverstein cautioned that public works projects usually end up costing “150% to 200% of what people think they will cost” and that sticking with septic systems is still the most likely outcome.
Malibu has tackled a sewer project before, but only after water quality officials put the kibosh on long-term use of septic systems in a broad area centered on the Civic Center. The no-septic order was issued after officials found that the individual underground treatment systems were leaking waste into groundwater and Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon, making Surfrider Beach occasionally unsafe for swimmers and surfers.
The city gave the green light to a sewer to serve the heart of the city, with the first phase completed in 2018. A second phase, to serve the exclusive Malibu Colony and Malibu Road, has hit a snag, with one branch of the system, to Serra Retreat, put on hold indefinitely after the discovery of Indigenous artifacts.
The waste from the Civic Center sewer is treated at a small plant on Civic Center Way near the foot of Malibu Canyon Road. A new PCH sewer could potentially connect to the Civic Center system, but DuBoux thinks it would cost $64 million more than the Hyperion connection. Additionally, City Council members pointed out that the Civic Center treatment plant wouldn’t be able to handle waste from both the burn-zone homes and neighborhoods already slated to be connected to the system.
Another option would be for a new PCH sewer line to link up with the Las Virgenes-Tapia Water Reclamation facility high in Malibu Canyon. However, DuBoux estimates that this option would require twice as much pipeline and cost more than double the Hyperion connection.
While council members aren’t keen on the Las Virgenes connection, environmental scientist Mark Gold thinks that all options deserve a closer look. Gold, from the Natural Resources Defense Council, mentioned that the Las Virgenes sewage plant produces reclaimed water that could be used for irrigation and fire protection in Malibu.
Under a different scenario, Malibu could build a new treatment plant near the coast. Council members have doubts about finding the right location for this and are concerned about the nearly seven-year timeline estimated for the project.
As Malibu leaders mull over the future, the state of most septic systems along PCH remains unknown. Debris from the fire still covers many of the underground tanks, awaiting clearance by the Army Corps of Engineers and private contractors. Until the lots are cleared, no inspections have been carried out to see if the septic systems are still functional.
Even before the fire, it’s likely that few septic tanks and leach fields were up to current standards, which demand enhanced removal of pathogens. Another ongoing issue is the rise in sea levels and more intense storms due to climate change, which have eroded most of the beach that used to separate the waste systems from the ocean.
Malibu officials seem open to a trade-off: If they agree to construct a sewer, residents along PCH should be allowed to keep even substandard septic systems until the sewer is up and running. It will be up to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to decide whether the short-term pollution is worth it in exchange for the long-term benefits a sewer would bring. The agency stated that it “looks forward to working with the City of Malibu to explore viable solutions.”
Tonya Shelton, a spokesperson for the L.A. City Bureau of Sanitation, mentioned that Malibu’s potential connection to the coastal sewer and the Hyperion plant “would require more study,” although “a cursory review indicates it may be feasible.”
Gold stressed the importance of conducting ocean testing as soon as possible to determine if septic systems are leaking waste into Santa Monica Bay. “It’s the city’s duty to make sure that happens,” Gold emphasized.
The scientist pointed out that the crisis triggered by the fire also presents an opportunity. “You can build facilities in a way that doesn’t spur growth,” Gold remarked. “And you might even be able to improve water supply and fire resilience.”
In conclusion, the discussion around building a sewer system in Malibu has sparked debate among residents, city officials, and environmental experts. The decision about whether to move forward with the project will have long-lasting implications for the community and the environment. Despite the uncertainties and challenges ahead, one thing is clear: the need to address the issue of sewage management in a way that balances environmental protection with the needs of the community.
