Malibu Lagoon

Re "A deep divide at Malibu Lagoon," April 30 California's "restoration" of the Malibu Lagoon has turned a nature preserve into what one activist called a "manufactured wetland theme park. " Part of the reason for the restoration was to eliminate pollution ostensibly caused by human waste. However, a study by the U.S. Geological Survey found no evidence of such pollution. Rather, much of the pollution in the lagoon is caused by droppings deposited by the thousands of birds that hold conventions there each day. This will not change.

Re "A deep divide at Malibu Lagoon," April 30 California's "restoration" of the Malibu Lagoon has turned a nature preserve into what one activist called a "manufactured wetland theme park. " Part of the reason for the restoration was to eliminate pollution ostensibly caused by human waste. However, a study by the U.S. Geological Survey found no evidence of such pollution. Rather, much of the pollution in the lagoon is caused by droppings deposited by the thousands of birds that hold conventions there each day. This will not change.

Even though nearly half of the Malibu Creek watershed is undeveloped open space, the creek and its mouth, Malibu Lagoon, are far from pristine. Tainted runoff from urban areas in the 101 Freeway corridor in the northern part of the watershed have overloaded the waterways with nutrients and sediment, hurting aquatic life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new pollution standards for the creek and lagoon to reduce sedimentation and levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that stoke harmful algae growth.

Before the bulldozers arrived last June, Malibu Lagoon was a fully grown habitat for egrets, voles and tidewater gobies, studded with sycamore trees and clusters of tule reeds. Today, the lagoon's islands appear almost barren, covered by a sea of tiny red and blue plastic flags marking young plants just taking root. Depending on whom you talk to, the lagoon has been restored - or ruined. On Friday, bureaucrats, biologists and birders will descend on the state beach at the mouth of Malibu Creek for the ribbon cutting to mark what state officials are calling "the long and successful journey toward restoration.

Before the bulldozers arrived last June, Malibu Lagoon was a fully grown habitat for egrets, voles and tidewater gobies, studded with sycamore trees and clusters of tule reeds. Today, the lagoon's islands appear almost barren, covered by a sea of tiny red and blue plastic flags marking young plants just taking root. Depending on whom you talk to, the lagoon has been restored - or ruined. On Friday, bureaucrats, biologists and birders will descend on the state beach at the mouth of Malibu Creek for the ribbon cutting to mark what state officials are calling "the long and successful journey toward restoration.

A contested plan to restore pollution-choked Malibu Lagoon by reshaping it with bulldozers won't be getting underway as scheduled on Wednesday after a major setback in court. San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith issued a stay last week delaying the state Department of Parks and Recreation project until a lawsuit challenging it can be heard. He said the harm that would result from the plan going forward was "severe. " Most environmental groups back the restoration and contend that the stagnant wetland at the outlet of Malibu Creek is ecologically sick and must be drained, dredged and recontoured to meet basic quality standards.

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.

Critics of the way the Department of Parks and Recreation has been managing Malibu Lagoon finally have something to cheer about. After years of complaints that the lagoon was contaminated and causing infections in people who had contact with its water, the department has agreed to post it as unsafe for swimming.

When Malibu Lagoon was restored in 1983, environmentalists breathed sighs of relief that one of the most important ecological refuges in Southern California had been brought back to life. But since then, a series of pollution problems have plagued the sand bar-enclosed lagoon, including the appearance in recent weeks of a mysterious dirty brown foam, the exact cause of which is not known, and persistent problems with high levels of bacteria in the placid waters.

A Malibu city official in charge of overseeing construction sites to protect Native American artifacts has been fired after allegedly trying to discredit another Chumash doing similar work on a state-funded project. Qun-Tan Shup Garcia, the city's Chumash cultural resources manager, was asked by City Manager David N. Carmany to resign formally by today.

Even though nearly half of the Malibu Creek watershed is undeveloped open space, the creek and its mouth, Malibu Lagoon, are far from pristine. Tainted runoff from urban areas in the 101 Freeway corridor in the northern part of the watershed have overloaded the waterways with nutrients and sediment, hurting aquatic life. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing new pollution standards for the creek and lagoon to reduce sedimentation and levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that stoke harmful algae growth.

After a vocal advocate for the controversial Malibu Lagoon restoration turned a gun on herself late Saturday, some closest to her were left wondering if the increasing vitriol surrounding the project drove the 35-year-old over the edge. Stephenie Glas, a Los Angeles city firefighter, shot herself in the head shortly before midnight at her boyfriend's Corral Canyon home, according to the boyfriend, Steve Woods. Authorities said only that a 35-year-old female died of "apparent suicide" at the home but did not release the woman's identity Sunday.

In a battle that has polarized the wealthy beach town of Malibu, activists are pledging to stand in the path of oncoming bulldozers when work begins this week on a controversial effort by the state to clean up a pollution-choked salt marsh that sits next to a world-renowned surf spot. State contractors are set to begin fencing off Malibu Lagoon on Friday before draining the salt marsh and reshaping its shores and channels. Activists, who for years have fought a plan they believe is dangerously aggressive, say they will meet the bulldozers face-to-face and stage protests until the state backs off. On one side is a well-organized alliance of surfers, environmental activists, Malibu locals and celebrities such as Pamela Anderson and Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis.

A contested plan to restore pollution-choked Malibu Lagoon by reshaping it with bulldozers won't be getting underway as scheduled on Wednesday after a major setback in court. San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith issued a stay last week delaying the state Department of Parks and Recreation project until a lawsuit challenging it can be heard. He said the harm that would result from the plan going forward was "severe. " Most environmental groups back the restoration and contend that the stagnant wetland at the outlet of Malibu Creek is ecologically sick and must be drained, dredged and recontoured to meet basic quality standards.

On the surface, Malibu Lagoon would seem a shining example of a restored wetland, a rarity along Southern California's built-up coastline. In an estuary that was once filled with dirt to create baseball diamonds, snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons now hunt for fish along the grass-covered banks of tidal channels, while sparrows and red-winged blackbirds perch on tule reeds swaying gently in the sea breeze. But beneath all that are stagnant, polluted waterways with steep banks so poorly constructed when the lagoon was restored that state parks officials say they must be drained, dredged and rebuilt to meet even basic water quality standards.

Septic tanks and leach pits could soon be endangered commodities in Malibu. On Tuesday, the State Water Resources Control Board is slated to vote in Sacramento on a proposal to require the coastal community to install its first central sewer system, cease permits for new septic setups and phase out hundreds of existing small-scale systems by 2019. Chronic pollution in Malibu Creek and Lagoon and Surfrider Beach — and repeated failures by Malibu to address the problem — spurred the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board last November to propose the septic ban for a large area of central and eastern Malibu.

On summer evenings after returning home from work, environmental lawyer Bob Sulnick and several of his Santa Monica Canyon neighbors used to tramp down to the beach for some body surfing. Today, the group that called itself the Dolphin Club is disbanded, done in by concern about the pollutants that storm drains and sewer lines pour into Santa Monica Bay. "After we started finding out what was going on in the bay, it was a real shock, let me tell you," said Sulnick, 49. "We all stopped.

Abigail King started 1992, not with a bang, but with a goldeneye. With half a dozen other die-hards, King rose early New Year's morning, dressed toasty, grabbed her binoculars and headed for Malibu Lagoon. Let the revelers lie abed, nursing their hangovers and wondering whether they had made complete fools of themselves. Birders are made of sterner stuff.

One after another, surfers young and older trooped to the microphone to recount their encounters with the polluted waves off Malibu's Surfrider Beach. They told of bouts of diarrhea, conjunctivitis that wouldn't heal and heart-damaging Coxsackie B4 virus. Some talked of inhaling the pervasive Malibu stench and watching raw sewage pour through the city's streets and parking lots. In the end, the testimony of the surfers helped carry the day Thursday for supporters of a ban on new septic systems in the vibrant commercial heart of one of Southern California's most exclusive enclaves.