Saturday Showers Clog PCH With Mud In Closure Zone, Power Out Near Latigo and Zuma

A mudslide in Saturday’s rain covered Pacific Coast Highway west of Big Rock Drive with rocks and mud.  That location had been the site of smaller debris flows before the fire, but today, it was a torrent,

East of the Big Rock signal last week, a gigantic crane was being used by Caltrans to lift workers and material up the side of the cliff above PCH.

And there are three locations on the coast highway where the ocean is threatening to take out the highway, now that protective houses have burned down and been carted away.  Those three areas  have been identified as areas that need immediate repair … according to a city of Malibu official who was briefed by Caltrans.

The crane is being operated at the same location where a major rock slide hit the coast road 35 years ago.

Iron beams that were holding nets … and anchoring the cliffside … were destroyed in the Palisades Fire. 

This work is being done to prevent the cliff from coming down onto the road.

But the danger of the oceanside of the highway is also of growing concern to state engineers.  The road was already in peril in some places … but the loss of 330 oceanfront houses and their protective piers and seawalls ahas aggravated the danger to the highway.

Building Sewer To Coastline Drive & Pumping Effluent To LAX Is Cheapest Option For Burned Beach Area

All that geologic danger figures in to planning by the homeowners of the burned out lots … east of Las Flores Canyon … on how to rebuild their homes.

Thursday afternoon … there was a city council meeting to discuss the possibility of putting in a sewer along PCH… to both protect the road and to save homeowners money.

If a sewer is built… Then fewer seawalls would be needed to be constructed… Because homeowners would not need to protect their own individual septic tank systems.

So that leads to the big question… on Thursday evening … from city council member Haylynn Conrad.

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HAYLYNN CONRAD: “If we were to take one of these options, would PCH –  because it’s a state-owned highway – get involved?

“Because we’re essentially showing up their crumbling infrastructure?”

ROB DUBOUX: “If wastewater lines were used instead of septics, all these properties would not need a sea wall to protect their septic systems, so that would be limited on these properties. 

“Caltrans is in the process of evaluating those sea walls along their property lines and seeing areas need repair. 

“And actually, there are three locations that they have identified – or that they let me know yesterday – that they were in the process of repairing. 

“So there are three locations that they are in the process repairing. 

“As soon as more debris is being removed (by the Army Corps of Engineers), they are going to go back in there and look to see if there are more PCH areas they need to go back and fix.”

Haylynn Conrad and Rob DuBoux … the city’s public works director.

So … what kind of sewer system?

How much would it cost?

How long would it take to build?

Where would it go?

Five options were laid out by the city yesterday … each taking more than 5 years to build … with costs ranging from 124 million dollars up to more than double that.

The oceanfront landowners would have to pay for it … at a cost starting at 269 thousand dollars per lot. 

The cheapest option is to build a pipe down the burned section of beach … to plug into a City of Los Angeles sewer main at Coastline Drive… 

Then … pump the Malibu sewage all the way down to the Hyperion Treatment plant next to LAX.

The city engineer Rob DuBoux says sending the sewage to the airport might be easiest.

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“We have had extensive conversations with the County of Los Angeles, and the City of LA.

“ accomplished solution to 24 million months to complete with approximate cost per parcel of $269,000”

That’s 269 thousand dollars per property owner … and that is maybe half the cost of installing seawalls and individual wastewater treatment tanks on each lot. 

Another alternative … pump the sewage the other way.

Build six miles of sewage mains on PCH over to the Civic Center … and treat the effluent at the city’s new sewage treatment plant there.  The new plant has a lot of extra capacity … 

But the state water board has ordered Malibu to use that spare sewage capacity for houses in the Civic Center area … houses in a building moratorium area until they hook into the civc center sewer.

DuBoux says the county would have to let Malibu switch gears. 

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“This option would require the regional board water board to modify the septic prohibition and move it move the septic probation to those properties identified in phase 2 and three to those properties on PCH where they have damaged.”

Treating the oceanfront sewage at Malibu Civic Center would cost 188 million dollars … that’s 408 thousand dollars per parcel … more than LAX but still much less than individual treatment and seawalls.

Another option … build the sewer main to the civic center but then continue seven miles up Malibu Canyon Road … to the Tapia Sewer Plant up the canyon.

That would be a construction project that would close the vital canyon road for a very long time. 

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“It’s going up Malibu Canyon Road and so you can see the challenges of going up Malibu Canyon Road in addition to those challenges that we would see going up on PCH.”

Building a sewer line up Malibu Canyon would total around 261 million dollars … that’s 90 million dollars or so more than treating the sewage at the Civic Center.

And that is almost twice as much as sending the sewage down to LAX.

Other options include building new one to three new … small sewage treatment plants in eastern Malibu … again pricey … at 232 million dollars plus land acquisition costs. 

Simply allowing homeowners to build their own sewage systems and treat their water onsite is much more expensive than connecting to a sewer … two or three times more expensive.

And then there is the problem of what to do with the cleaned water … federal and state law will not allow that water to be sent to the ocean … DuBoux said.

All of the options involve major construction on PCH … lasting five years or longer.

They all mean people cannot move back into their houses for five to seven years … and that’s an optimistic estimate.

Rob DuBoux.

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“It’s a lot of work on PCH. It’s a lot of pump stations, a lot of equipment that he needs to go in there.

“One of the things that contractors have brought to my attention, is that equipment for treatment plants – pump stations, pumps, and other equipment –  has been taken over a year for them to actually receive after they put their  order in.

“So time to get material has significantly increased..”

And the costs for pipe and the large pumps is expected to increase as a result of any tariffs … DuBoux said. 

City Issues Hopeful Statement After SM School Board Walks Away From Malibu Independence Deals

The City of Malibu is taking the high road after Santa Monica school board members walked away from their agreement on terms for the proposed independent Malibu school district.

Late Wednesday .. the school board voted to reopen talks with Malibu … rather than ratify a tentative agreement reached by its negotiators and a mediator. 

The decision by Santa Monica was based on questions they had about what would happen tp the budgets for the two resting districts … should an economic downturn or major disaster cause drastic reductions in property taxes.

The city is hoping new talks can be held quickly … before a county committee meets again to make a recommendation on the proposed divorce.

Malibu negotiator Christine Wood … an assistant city attorney … sent us a statement yesterday … as voiced by a KBUU reporter.

 “The City is encouraged that the District expressed its commitment to the agreements at last night’s meeting … but the lack of a timeline is concerning

“The city is cautiously optimistic at the prospect of renewed negotiations. It would be ideal for the parties to re-engage and  finalize the agreements before the next County Committee meeting.”

Council To Consider Reallocating Sheriff Resources To Station Deputy At Schools

Should the city pay for a sheriff’s deputy to be stationed at Malibu’s public schools … as a resource officer?

That question goes before the Malibu City Council Monday. 

A recent security review … by a paid consultant … stopped shoer of recommending a school resource officer being assigned to the schools.

The consultant said the city should discuss having a sworn deputy assigned to a school to work in collaboration with the school and the community as a resource for safety and security issues. 

The problem is … that even if the city wanted to hire such a deputy … the sheriff;’s department does not have enough deputies to do that.

There is an extreme shortage of sheriffs deputies in LA county… The department cannot hire them fast enough.

That’s the same reason that Malibu’s sheriffs station has not been opened down at the Civic Center… Not enough deputies.

The city does have several Special Assignment Deputies included in the existing contract with the sheriff’s office … and one of them could be reassigned to the schools. 

Special Assignment Deputies are flexible resources that do not respond to regular calls for service unless they are needed.

Right now .. Malibu’s special assignment deputies are assigned to various crime prevention missions including retail theft, homelessness, RV and parking enforcement, and supporting the detective bureau with follow-up investigation.

Also …doing targeted surveillance for crimes occurring in Malibu.

So … theMalibu city council has a question of priorities.

The matter will be discussed at Monday’s city council meeting. 

As Whales Get Poisoned By Acid, One Gets Struck And Killed By A Ship

Another whale has washed up dead north of Malibu Thursday.

But this one was not killed be demoic acid poisoning .

A young female humpback whale washed up on a Ventura beach with muscle bruising … consistent with blunt force trauma.

A public affairs officer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tells the Ventura County Star that it looks like the 26-foot whale was struck by a ship or boat.

This girl had a rough life.

A veterinary team also found abrasions and scarring, likely caused when the whale got tangled in some kind of lines or fishing gear.

She was the latest of many whales washed up dead on California beaches this winter and spring … an unusually high number of… according to experts. 

LAX Shuffles Bus Depot, As Approaching People Mover May Or May Solve Airport Knot

Getting from Malibu to LAX without braving the traffic choked airport loop or approach roads is getting closer. 

The airport people mover … with trains every two minutes … will open just after Christmas. 

But where does it go?

It goes to a new airport transit center … a connection to the Metro bus and rail network … 

And that airport transit center will now open on June 6th.

Remember … the people movers come later. 

So what does that mean for Malibu?
Let’s say you are going on a trip. 

You can get on the 134 Metro bus on PCH.

In downtown Santa Monica … you transfer to the Big Blue Bus Route 3 .. down Lincoln Blvd.

A bus only lane is being extended on Lincoln.  

It goes to the airport transit center. 

From there … a shuttle bus to the proper terminal. 

And that last shuttle bus is the one that will be eliminated when the people mover starts moving people … early next year. 

Metro officials announced yesterday that the transit center … which also connects to the LA train system … will open on June 6th.