Treatment, Pumping of Water from Malibu Lagoon Could Begin This Week

UPDATE Tuesday, July 17: California State Parks is waiting for the results from a test and dewatering could begin later in the week.

Original post: The pumping of water out of the Malibu Lagoon and into the Pacific Ocean could begin as early as this week, according to a California State Parks official.

The contractor for the Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Project, Ford E.C. Inc., conducted tests last week on the dewatering plant, according to Suzanne Goode, Senior Environmental Scientist for California State Parks. The plant will treat water pumped out of the lagoon before it is discharged through a pipe into the ocean at .

Additional water quality tests will be conducted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board before the dewatering process begins, Goode said.

"We expect that by Monday or Tuesday it will be ready," she said.

The channels of the Malibu Lagoon were mainly emptied of water last month when a sand berm separating the lagoon from the ocean breached. Bulldozers worked quickly to remove foot bridges and vegetation, including several sycamore trees.

The channels have since filled back up with water, but that should not slow the project down, according to Goode.

"The water table is only about four feet deep here," Goode said. Once the water is pumped out, she said bulldozers will begin reshaping the lagoon.

Opponents raised concerns over the water testing process last week when a video began circulating showing Arrowhead water being poured into the test bottles.

Goode said the distilled water was being used to clean out the test bottles.

"There’s no way we could cheat," Goode said, pointing to the other tests that will be conducted at the site by various independent agencies.

The contractor has until Oct. 15 to finish the work in the wetlands, she said, adding that everything is on schedule so far.

Marcia Hanscom of the Wetlands Defense Fund, who opposes the project and submitted a request for revocation of the permit for the project, said she is concerned about the pumping of water into the ocean at Surfrider Beach.

Hanscom said the treated water could cause problems for the tidepools at the beach. She said she hopes California State Parks, which is the lead agency on the project, halts work and allows nature to heal itself.

"Let the community get involved in healing this place," Hanscom said.

The City of Malibu raised concerns earlier this month about water quality at Surfrider Beach once the dewatering process begins. In a letter to the California Coastal Commission, the city asked for water testing twice a day.

The California Coastal Commission responded to the city's concerns about the dewatering plan last week, stating that the approved dewatering plan already calls for testing and that it meets all permitted requirements.