Malibu Bans Septic Tanks; Residents Steamed
The water board compromises with residents but it's going to cost them
By JOHN ADAMS
Updated 6:44 AM PST, Sat, Nov 7, 2009
Water officials have “pooh-poohed” septic tanks in portions of Malibu, ending years of wrangling between surfers, environmentalists and residents in the celebrity-filled community.
The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed late Thursday to ban septic tanks in central and eastern Malibu. The board agreed to give business owners until 2015 and residents until 2019 to “kick the can” and hook into a central sewage system.
Ironically, the city was incorporated in 1991 specifically to stop construction of a county sewer line for fear of massive development in the rustic area. Now, less than twenty years later, surfers, environmentalists and some residents say the raw sewage from septic tanks is too high a cost for the pollution of the Malilbu shores.
The emotionally charged 10-hour meeting had hundreds of attendees calling for a different plan that would decrease the watershed to the bay without decreasing the size of their wallets.
As it stands now, homeowners will be hit with a $500 monthly fee to foot the bill of hooking into the sewage system, according to the city’s projections.
Business owners could see their bill increase up to $20,000 a month making it one expensive flush.
The extra income to the city would help finance the current storm water and wastewater treatment facility project at Malibu’s Legacy Park. The final cost of the environmental park could exceed $35 million according to The Malibu Times.
"We want Legacy Park to be used for its original intended purpose: to treat wastewater and storm water," said Baykeeper Executive Director Tom Ford to The Malibu Times. "In plain language, 'take the poo out of the ''Bu'."
For now, the debate is settled as no new septic systems will be allowed in Malibu, but it will not keep some residents from putting up a stink.
"We've beaten them before," said Walt Keller, the city's first mayor, who was elected on a wave of anti-sewer support. "I think we could beat them in court again based on the fact that septic tanks work everywhere else."
Mark Abramson, director of watershed programs with Santa Monica Baykeeper, predicted a "blood bath" if the board approves the septic tank ban, but said it was time to take bold steps with a seaside city that has not done enough to clean up its world-famous beaches.
"We're glad they're saying they want to clean up the water, but we've been talking about it since 1997, and guess what?" Abramson said. "The water still ain't clean."
Many believe that even though the board made the decision, this resolution is far from flushed.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Los Angeles
First Published: Nov 6, 2009 12:43 PM PST
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