Septic Tanks

The committee studying alternative sewer plans for Malibu has recommended a $34-million disposal system that would allow a majority of residents to continue using septic tanks.

The city of Malibu, home to many big-name environmentalists, has been accused of fouling its own beaches because of its fierce dedication to septic tanks. Nine years after the city incorporated to stop construction of a sewer line, water officials say they have linked the fetid water at Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach to the septic tanks of the rich and famous, among other residents and business owners.

Los Angeles County officials are determined to remove all septic systems from hillside homes in the landslide areas of Malibu, even though they have yet to come up with an alternative waste-water system for the sites.

At the urging of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, state water-quality officials agreed Monday to delay action on a sweeping proposal to restrict use of septic tanks in fast-growing, rural areas of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

State water-quality officials, concerned that septic tanks are polluting well water in Agua Dulce, will consider a ban on the tanks this month that would effectively freeze development in the unincorporated community. The ban is one of several possible actions that the California Regional Water Quality Control Board will discuss at a public hearing May 22. The board will also hear staff reports and public testimony on proposals for a sewer system or water treatment plant. Agua Dulce, a rural community of about 1,500 residents 40 miles north of Los Angeles in the eastern Santa Clarita Valley, has no sewer system and obtains all of its water from wells.

Septic tank cleaning firms protested Wednesday against proposed new Los Angeles city rules and fees, saying the changes would force them to double what they charge their customers, most of whom live in the San Fernando Valley. The proposals would seriously harm the firms' productivity, forcing them "to double or triple our bills," said Paul Walker of Walker & Sons, a Tujunga-based septic tank cleaning firm.

For years, surfers at popular Rincon Point north of Ventura complained that foul ocean water was making them sick. They cited studies showing that human waste from leaky septic tanks from dozens of beach homes was responsible for the pollution. On Tuesday, Ventura County supervisors unanimously supported a resolution that could pave the way for 72 Rincon Point homeowners to decide if they want to assess themselves for the cost of replacing septic tanks with sewer service.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to delay for one year approval of a nearly completed dumping site for septic tank waste in the Sepulveda Basin so that city officials can complete an environmental study of the project. The environmental review had been requested by environmentalists and neighbors who fear that the septic tank dumping site at the Donald C. Tillman Water Treatment Plant may create excessive truck traffic and contaminate adjacent parkland.

A long-awaited Malibu study disputes claims by Los Angeles County officials that leaking septic tanks pose a health threat and concludes that the community does not need the comprehensive sewer system long promoted by the county. In a 268-page report based on six months of research, a consultant hired by Malibu calls instead for a "cutting edge" approach to the city's waste-water needs that relies overwhelmingly on continued use of septic tanks, something the county has asserted is unacceptable.