Sewers

The great sewer wars of Malibu have finally drawn to a close. Sewers won. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed late Thursday to ban septic systems in central and eastern Malibu, a move that would end years of fierce debate over the wastewater devices still commonly used in one of Southern California's most picturesque and exclusive coastal communities. New septic systems will not be permitted in Malibu and owners of existing systems will have to halt wastewater discharges within a decade.

Blaming small-scale septic systems for causing much of the pollution in Malibu's watershed, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board will vote Thursday whether to ban the systems in a large portion of central and eastern Malibu. Under the proposed moratorium, no new septic systems would be permitted, and owners of existing systems would have to halt wastewater discharges within five years. Far from a mundane issue, the staff-recommended proposal has prompted heated debate and threats of legal action in Malibu, where almost all homes and businesses rely on septic systems.

If regional water quality officials approve a proposed ban on septic systems in central Malibu as expected, residential property owners in the affected area would be on the hook for $1,000 a month to pay for a centralized wastewater treatment system, city officials said Monday. Commercial property owners benefiting from the treatment system could be required to lay out significantly more, the city said. Malibu said in a statement that such a system would cost $52 million, more than three times the $16.7-million projection that the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has suggested at recent community workshops.

Despite years of alleged pollution from septic tanks in Los Osos, a state agency has withdrawn a $135-million loan for new sewage facilities in the Central Coast community because local officials stopped work on an approved treatment plant and insisted on moving it.

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.

In a national crackdown on water polluters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a regional water board filed suit Wednesday against Los Angeles, Burbank and five businesses in Los Angeles County that allegedly dumped toxic wastes into city sewers.

Calling the city's sewer bureaucracy out of control, Los Angeles City Councilmen Joel Wachs and Hal Bernson called for an independent audit of the city's waste-water treatment system in an effort to reduce bills for property owners. "We first started complaining about this system eight or nine years ago," said Wachs at a news conference Tuesday. "Eight years later we still have a system that is out of control."

In a victory for Malibu cityhood supporters, a judge on Wednesday ordered the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to stop delaying a long-sought incorporation election, clearing the way for the election to be held in June. Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs gave the supervisors until Feb. 27 to conclude a hearing on cityhood that the county officials had indefinitely postponed in November.

If Malibu incorporates, but does not approve a new sewer system, existing septic systems will continue to contribute to a health hazard in the area and could contaminate surface and ground water in the coastal community, according to an environmental study released this week.

In one of the most misguided reconstruction projects attempted in Iraq, the U.S. spent nearly $100 million to build a sewage treatment system for the city of Fallouja, according to a government audit report released today. Sewage continues to run in the streets, and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that the system may never be properly connected to individual homes, lacks the necessary fuel to operate and is unlikely to ever cover the full city.

The great sewer wars of Malibu have finally drawn to a close. Sewers won. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board agreed late Thursday to ban septic systems in central and eastern Malibu, a move that would end years of fierce debate over the wastewater devices still commonly used in one of Southern California's most picturesque and exclusive coastal communities. New septic systems will not be permitted in Malibu and owners of existing systems will have to halt wastewater discharges within a decade.

Blaming small-scale septic systems for causing much of the pollution in Malibu's watershed, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board will vote Thursday whether to ban the systems in a large portion of central and eastern Malibu. Under the proposed moratorium, no new septic systems would be permitted, and owners of existing systems would have to halt wastewater discharges within five years. Far from a mundane issue, the staff-recommended proposal has prompted heated debate and threats of legal action in Malibu, where almost all homes and businesses rely on septic systems.

If regional water quality officials approve a proposed ban on septic systems in central Malibu as expected, residential property owners in the affected area would be on the hook for $1,000 a month to pay for a centralized wastewater treatment system, city officials said Monday. Commercial property owners benefiting from the treatment system could be required to lay out significantly more, the city said. Malibu said in a statement that such a system would cost $52 million, more than three times the $16.7-million projection that the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has suggested at recent community workshops.

Re "Obama forgoes grand projects," Feb. 23 This article's subhead shouts, "Unlike the marvels of FDR's New Deal, the stimulus is more about traffic, sewers and school repairs." Grand projects or not, President Obama's stimulus plan seems to have missed the mark by a wide margin. How many of those people losing their jobs at Mervyns, Circuit City, Starbucks or even Lehman Bros. can put on a hard hat and find jobs repairing schools, building bridges or replacing aging sewers? Very, very few, I suspect.

In one of the most misguided reconstruction projects attempted in Iraq, the U.S. spent nearly $100 million to build a sewage treatment system for the city of Fallouja, according to a government audit report released today. Sewage continues to run in the streets, and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction found that the system may never be properly connected to individual homes, lacks the necessary fuel to operate and is unlikely to ever cover the full city.

Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn accused his board colleagues Monday of misappropriating money that should have gone toward a sewer-conversion project in El Rio, a small blue-collar community north of Oxnard. Flynn, whose 5th District includes Oxnard and El Rio, said county officials reneged on a four-year promise to provide as much as $4 million to convert households in El Rio from using septic tanks to sewer lines. Instead, only $1.65 million was spent on the conversion.

Worried about which trees are more likely to damage your sewer line? "All trees and shrubs can clog sewer lines, if the sewer lines already have leaks in them," said Frank McDonough, a botanical information consultant with the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. "The only thing you can do to minimize the possibility of damage is to make sure that the tree you plant is not listed as an invasive tree," he added. "They are less likely to damage a good sewer line."

This summer's hotter-than-usual weather is creating a problem for some unsuspecting homeowners: tree roots clogging sewers. "In general, heat causes plants to grow faster. Faster-growing plants mean faster-growing roots. This increases the chance that the roots will damage things, including sewer lines," said Frank McDonough, a botanical information consultant with the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, who also hosts the cable television show "Gardens of California."

A Sun Valley aerospace company was ordered Thursday to pay more than $200,000 in fines for illegally dumping nickel and other hazardous waste into the Los Angeles city sewer system. Hawker Pacific Aerospace entered a no-contest plea in Superior Court to a single violation of the state's health code after routine monitoring of the sewer system detected the illegal dumping. "It's significant because they are paying a high price for violating the law," said Deputy City Atty. Elise Ruden.

Despite years of alleged pollution from septic tanks in Los Osos, a state agency has withdrawn a $135-million loan for new sewage facilities in the Central Coast community because local officials stopped work on an approved treatment plant and insisted on moving it.