Water Treatment Plant Sought for Malibu Lagoon

Malibu’s Surfrider Beach is famous for its crashing waves--and notorious for its polluted waters.

The popular spot has repeatedly rated an “F” in Heal the Bay’s ocean safety report card. But surfers soon may have a chance to catch the waves without worrying about catching a virus.

The city of Malibu is applying for a $1.275-million grant from Los Angeles County to build a water treatment facility at Malibu Lagoon State Park, channeling water out of the contaminated lagoon during the dry season and disinfecting it before it overflows into the ocean.

“This project would virtually eliminate the health risks,” said Rick Morgan, Malibu’s city engineer. “This is the first project that will do something to immediately improve the situation, not only to improve health, but the habitat.”

City officials have been concerned about health hazards at Surfrider Beach for years, but they hadn’t found an efficient way to control runoff from Malibu Creek, which often functions as a storm drain, Morgan said. On Monday, the Malibu City Council unanimously voted to apply for the grant as partners with the state Department of Parks and Recreation.

The proposed facility would control the water level of Malibu Creek, which flows into Malibu Lagoon at the head of the beach. When the lagoon waters rise about six feet, they breach the sand bar and spill into the surf zone.

Upstream along the banks of the creek are a waste water treatment plant, Malibu’s septic system, horse corrals, construction sites and homeless encampments--all possible sources of water pollutants. “It’s a shopping list of concerns,” Morgan said.

Swimmers have been known to contract fevers, skin rashes, diarrhea and other illnesses from exposure to the polluted water. This summer, Los Angeles County closed Surfrider Beach four times after contaminated water spilled from the lagoon, Morgan said.

Supporters of the plan said making the beach safe for swimmers and surfers is long overdue.

“Surfrider Beach is our No. 1 priority, and we’re going to continue working at it until we find a solution,” said Nancy Downes, chairwoman of the Malibu chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an international environmental group. “It’s got the best surf break in Los Angeles.”

Although the treatment plant would protect the beach from contaminated water, the lagoon would still not be safe for swimmers.

“It’s kind of brackish water, full of bacteria,” Morgan said. “Biologists love it, but it’s not meant for swimming.”