MALIBU—The city of Malibu’s environmentally-friendly facility to treat and reuse wastewater in the Civic Center area passed a major milestone on January 25 as the formation of an Assessment District was approved by Civic Center property owners when ballots were counted.
“I commend the property owners who had the courage and the vision to support the assessment district,” said Mayor Laura Rosenthal. “It will be one of the most advanced water recycling facilities in the nation, enabling us to protect the natural environment that we value so highly, while meeting state mandates to end the use of septic systems in the Civic Center area.”
According to a news release from the city of Malibu website, ballots from 50 of the 57 properties were tallied during a recess of the City Council meeting on January 25. Over 98 percent of the owners voted in favor of forming the assessment district, which will be vital in funding the $57 million project. The city of Malibu teamed up with a large stakeholders group consisting of scientists, engineers, environmentalists, the State Water Board, property owners, and community organizations to ensure that it is clean, safe, efficient, and green as possible.
The facility will utilize membrane filtration, biological reactors, and ultraviolent light to treat the wastewater and transform it to useable Title 22-compliant recycled water. Close to 70 million gallons per year of recycled water will be generated from the proposed facility. The recycled water can be used to replace the potable water the city is using to irrigate parks and Civic Center property landscaping. The new recycled water infrastructure will allow homes and businesses to use the recycled water for irrigation.
“Having the recycled water to use for irrigation, replacing potable water, will provide a crucial water savings during the historic drought that we’re dealing with,” Mayor Rosenthal said. “Cities across the state are moving in this direction, and Malibu is ahead of the curve.”
Work on the project is slated to begin in May and operation is expected to start in late 2017. The facility will be located on a 4.2-acre parcel just north of Pacific Coast Highway, along Civic Center Way, where an older existing treatment facility now sits.
The Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility was designed 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. Steps in the future will include finalizing all of the state grants and loans, which will assist in reducing the overall cost of the treatment facility.
For more information about the wastewater facility visit http://malibucity.org/ccwtf.
