Report Lists Costs, Pitfalls in Malibu Sewage Proposal

Construction of a proposed sewage system for Malibu, including a $38-million treatment plant in Corral Canyon, would periodically disrupt traffic on already-clogged Pacific Coast Highway for two years, according to a county consultants’ report.

Pipes would cross the Malibu Coast Fault in three spots and run through numerous landslide areas.

Corral Creek, about three miles west of Malibu Canyon Road, would be lined with concrete. Once the plant began operating, a year-round stream of treated waste water would flow across Corral Beach to the sea.

Individual property owners served by the system would be assessed fees ranging from $13,000 to $26,000 apiece to finance the plant, pipes and hookups, the report says.

Best Option

The Corral Canyon proposal has been recommended by consultants from James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers as the best of 16 options for disposing of Malibu’s waste. The recommendation was made public during meetings with Malibu residents early in the year.

Montgomery’s report, delivered to the county this week, offers the first detailed look at the potential impact of the suggested sewage system on the delicate Malibu environment, as well as its effect on property owners’ pocketbooks.

A hearing on the report will be held Aug. 5 in Malibu, said Brian Scanlon, county sewer maintenance superintendent. The location and time have not been determined, Scanlon said.

The sewage issue has been an emotional one for 20 years in Malibu’s coastal terrace, where more than 80% of the waste water is treated in septic tanks. Six small, private sewage systems also operate there.

Bonds Rejected

Three times, residents have rejected sewer bond issues. Critics contend that sewers will lead to overdevelopment in the geologically unstable, environmentally fragile region. Opponents of the sewer system also resent being forced to pay for it.

The consultant’s report says public acceptance of the Corral Canyon proposal would be “marginal.” Indeed, about 200 people have joined a committee questioning the current push for sewers.

But the county Health Department has declared that continued reliance on septic systems will be dangerous. So the project can proceed and property owners can be taxed, despite their objections, as long as four of the five county supervisors approve it, the consultants’ report says.

Over the past decade, 45.5% of beachfront septic systems have had breakdowns and 23.2% of the septic systems off the beach in the Malibu coastal area have failed, said Frank A. Grant, the consultant’s project director.

Many of the septic tanks were built in the 1950s, when regulations for the systems were not as stringent as they are now, the report says.

The consultants estimate that without a regional sewage system, 42% of the existing septic tank systems would fail over the next 20 years and 33% of those installed during that period would also break down, leading to nuisance, odor and potential disease.

A regional sewage system is required, the report says, to protect public health, accommodate future construction permitted under the nearly complete local coastal program and protect against landslides by keeping septic system water out of the soil.

Besides, “no project does not mean no development,” the report says. “Existing lots could be built upon with septic systems.” Pepperdine University’s plans for doubling the number of students at the Malibu campus and a planned 300-room hotel could also proceed by using an existing private treatment plant, the report says.

The county expects to open a sewage system that serves Malibu from Topanga Canyon on the east to Latigo Shores on the west by 1991. An expansion farther west to Point Dume would follow about 20 years later.

Owners of 3,500 lots in higher-density neighborhoods along a 25-mile strip of coastline would ultimately be affected. The first phase, which is about two-thirds of the project, would include 4,700 residential units once development reaches the maximum allowed under the local coastal program. And 794 acres of commercial land also would be served.

The consultants examined a range of options for a sewage system, from pumping waste water to the Tapia treatment plant in the Santa Monica Mountains to scattering several small treatment plants throughout Malibu.

Best Choice

The Corral Canyon proposal, which would cost more than $60 million to build and operate, is the least expensive and most practical choice, the consultants concluded.

The system would include a two-part pipeline, with 2.4 million gallons of sewage each day flowing west of Big Rock Mesa to the new plant and 300,000 gallons per day flowing east of Big Rock to the Hyperion plant in El Segundo, operated by the city of Los Angeles. By the time the system’s second phase is complete, the canyon plant would treat 3.6 million gallons of sewage each day.

Installation of pipes along Pacific Coast Highway, the only direct link between Malibu and the West Los Angeles area, would never take place during rush hour and probably would be restricted to the winter, when beach crowds are smallest, Grant said.

The flow would be split to avoid placing sewage pipes under the highway at Big Rock Mesa, where landslides have damaged houses and broken water mains under the road.

Still, other slides cannot be completely avoided, the report says. In fact, landslide areas flank the 17.5-acre Corral Canyon site where the treatment plant would be built. A slide about 1,500 feet wide could affect the coast highway west of the canyon, the report says, and a slide that is more than 2,500 feet wide has frequently caused heaving and cracking of the highway pavement.

‘Enormous Situation’

Joe Goodman, founder of the Malibu Alliance for Sensible Sewage Disposal, said the fault and the landslides problem is “in itself an enormous situation to deal with.” He had not yet received the consultant’s report, so he did not want to comment more specifically on the findings.

But Grant, the consultant’s project manager, said, “We’ve considered the potential for soil movement and . . . we’d put in flexible pipes in all the hazard areas. And we provide standby equipment to pump around any kind of break.”

He added that “a sewage pipe break would not be like the water main breaks these people in Malibu have seen. The water system is under high pressure and it just spurts out. The sewage is not.”

Treated waste from the new plant would be discharged into Corral Creek, which flows into the ocean at Corral Beach.

The creek would be lined with concrete to control flooding, the report states. “That’s the first we’ve heard of that,” Goodman said. “There are other ways to control flooding that might not be as unsightly.”

The increased volume of water in the creek would create a channel across Corral Beach. The report says the treated waste water would be safe for swimming, though not for drinking, and adds “the plant has many safety features” to control spills or breakdowns.

Goodman said the prospect of treated waste water on the beach concerns him. He noted that Malibu Lagoon, where Malibu Creek reaches the ocean, has had high fecal bacteria counts in the past. The Tapia sewage treatment plant discharges into Malibu Creek, but health officials have speculated that septic tanks from the nearby Malibu Colony caused the problem.

‘It’s a Problem’

Said Goodman: “We know that Malibu Lagoon has a problem and no one is sure why it’s a problem.”

A proposed sewage system also would affect six known archeological sites and eliminate about 750 square feet of grunion spawning area at the beach, the report says.

At earlier public meetings, the cost to property owners was estimated at $8,000 to $22,000 apiece. The higher numbers in the report, Grant said, are a result of “refinements” and are “conservative figures,” meaning that most individuals would pay far less than the maximum cited.

Property owners also will pay an annual user fee for the system’s operation and maintenance. The average individual’s share of the $1-million operating cost will be about $240 a year, Grant said.

After the August public hearing, Scanlon said, the consultants will draw up a final report and the sewage project will be considered by the Regional Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.

The county also will need to win approvals from the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Coastal Commission, Scanlon said.