Council Seeks to Distance City from Water Quality at Malibu Lagoon

The Malibu City Council is expected to be indemnified by California State Parks for the next phase of the Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Project at its meeting on Monday.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday, July 23 at .

Malibu City Manager Jim Thorsen said in a report put together in advance of the meeting that an indemnification agreement has already been negotiated with State Parks, which is the lead agency on the project.

The dewatering portion of the project, which is when water will be pumped and treated before it can be discharged into the Pacific Ocean, has not yet started. A treatment plant has already been constructed.

State Parks was still waiting for the final test results from Associated Laboratories as of late Friday afternoon, according to Suzanne Goode, Senior Environmental Scientist for California State Parks. The dewatering cannot begin until the final test results come in.

The outstanding test is determining the levels of bacteria in the treated water.

Over the past several months, Thorsen has raised concerns about the planned dewatering process, especially the level of the water quality coming out of the treatment plant and into .

Thorsen wrote that the dewatering plan may not clean the water enough for human contact.

"Failure to meet water quality standards in the creek and lagoon could subject the city to enforcement activities and financial penalties from the state or Regional Water Quality and Control Boards, and lawsuits from private citizens who are also authorized under the Clean Water Act to enforce the provisions on the NPDES permit,” Thorsen wrote.

The agreement will ensure that the city is protected from lawsuits about the quality of water discharged from the treatment plant.

Read more about opponents concerns about the dewatering plan: