VIDEO: Septic ban prevents waste leaks in Malibu

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board flushed the proposal of maintaining septic tanks in a 5 to 2 vote Thursday, Nov. 5.

The prohibition immediately bans the building of new septic systems in the Basin area of Malibu, and gives residences— from Sweetwater Mesa Drive to the western edge of Bluffs Park— until 2015 to rid their tanks as well.

 The ban seeks to prevent septic waste leakage into Malibu Creek, which contaminates Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach. This would induce dependence on underground sewers and a centralized treatment facility.

The City of Malibu estimates that the cost of building the sewers and treatment facility will be between $400 to $500 per month for residences, and $6,800 to $17,000 for businesses.

Although the Los Angeles Water Board approved the ban, the fight is not over for the City of Malibu. The ban must be approved by the State Water Resources Control Board of California before it is officially on the books.

The Water Board held a series of workshops to help the community understand the affects of the ban. “We [went] into great detail of the water quality,” said Wendy Phillips, section chief of Groundwater Permitting and Landfills.

City Manager Jim Thorsen said the city officials plan on appealing to the State Water Board as part of an effort to block the proposed plan by the Los Angeles Water Board. Thorsen said that he and city officials believe the L.A. Water Board’s proposed plan may not be able to handle the estimated 600,000 gallons of water used daily in the prohibited area.

City officials proposed a different plan at the Nov. 5 meeting:  building a centralized treatment facility that would serve businesses and residences directly neighboring Malibu Creek.

According to Thorsen, the city’s plan would be completed in its entirety by 2018. The monthly costs for the city’s proposed plan would be the same as the L.A. Water Board’s proposal, but the overall cost would be $30.8 million instead of the $52 million for the Water Board’s plan.

 Thorsen said the city has the option to persuade the L.A. Water Board to adopt some aspects of the city’s proposal into the L.A. Water Board’s proposal or go to trial.

At the meeting, city officials alluded to the possibility of a lawsuit as a means to block the L.A. Water Board’s proposal if the city felt that the Water Board was not cooperative in achieving a “common goal” of clean water in Malibu.