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Malibu’s Advanced Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility
Clears Major Hurdle with Coastal Commission Approval
Project Will Produce Millions of Gallons of Recycled Water for
Landscape Irrigation During Historic Drought

(Malibu, CA) – Malibu’s effort to build an advanced, environmentally friendly facility to treat and reuse wastewater in the Civic Center area achieved a major milestone when a critical amendment to the Local Coastal Program (LCP) was approved by the California Coastal Commission on May 13.

“We are extremely pleased with the Coastal Commission’s decision,” said Mayor John Sibert. “The City has been meticulous in planning this facility every step of the way to ensure that it is as clean, safe, efficient and green as possible, and getting a 10-0 Coastal Commission approval validates that process.”

“The facility will be one of the most advanced of its kind in the state, if not the nation, enabling us to protect the natural habitats that we value so highly in Malibu for generations, as well as complying with the state and county mandates to end the use of septic systems in the Civic Center area,” Sibert said.

In its first phase, the plant will use membrane filtration, biological reactions, and ultraviolet light to treat up to 190,000 gallons of wastewater a day. That will produce up to 70 million gallons per year of recycled water that will replace drinking water that is used to irrigate City parks and Civic Center property landscaping.

“Having the recycled water to use for irrigation, replacing potable water, will provide a crucial water savings during the historic drought that we’re challenged with,” Sibert said.

The final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of the CCWTF and the project entitlements were approved by the City Council in January 2015. The project is on track to begin construction in late 2015 and begin operation in June 2017.

The CCWTF was proposed in response to regulatory actions taken in 2011 by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the State Water Resources Control Board to prohibit discharges from onsite septic systems in Malibu’s Civic Center area, and to ban any new septic systems. The board had concluded that those discharges were a threat to Malibu’s environmentally sensitive, protected coastal habitats, particularly Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and Malibu Surfrider Beach.

Funding for the approximately $45 million project will likely come from a bond and a low-interest loan from the state, guaranteed by the formation of an assessment district comprised of the 57 property owners in the Civic Center area that will receive a benefit.

The CCWTF would be located on a 4.2-acre parcel just north of Pacific Coast Highway along Civic Center Way, where a much smaller, outdated wastewater treatment facility now sits, and would include nine pump stations, and 13.7 miles of pipeline.

The City has engaged in lengthy and comprehensive research and community outreach for the project, in close collaboration with the Regional Water Quality Control Board and environmental organizations such as Heal the Bay and Los Angeles Waterkeeper (formerly Baykeeper), which have lauded the project’s environmental benefits and protections.

The City has conducted exhaustive geological and hydrological testing to ensure that the facility is safe for the ocean and groundwater. The state-of-the-art facility will not house toxic chemicals, and is designed to be completely enclosed to prevent the release of odors or harmful gases, in line with strict air quality standards.

The next steps will be the formation of the assessment district (expected in August 2015), securing the state loan (expected in October 2015), the project contracting process (expected in November 2015) and the start of construction (expected in December 2015). The City will announce any changes in dates and deadlines, public meetings, public reports, and other significant milestones along the process.

For more information, visit www.malibucity.org/ccwtf [mailto:www.malibucity.org/ccwtf] .

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