Ahmanson opponents hope to douse project’s water plan
By John Loesing
Acorn Staff Writer

Environmentalists have said a recent proposal by the developer of Ahmanson Ranch to protect area water quality is both inadequate and misleading, and issued a renewed call to put the 2,800-acre site up for public ownership.

Seattle-based Washington Mutual, the Ahmanson developer, prepared a 21-page report that addresses issues such as urban runoff, reclaimed water usage and sewage disposal. The proposed 3,050-home development north of Calabasas lies near the headwaters of Las Virgenes Creek and the Malibu Creek watershed.

The report came in response to growing concerns about how Ahmanson Ranch will utilize its water and dispose of its sewage.

"They’re going to be pumping and dumping into the creek and they are going to destroy Malibu Creek watershed," said Mary Wiesbrock, director of the Agoura Hills-based Save Open Space organization.

Opponents already have asked the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to revoke Ahmanson’s water permit.

The board issued a federal Clean Water Act permit in 1996 to allow certain changes to the Malibu Creek watershed, but those alterations could bring harm to the endangered red-legged frog and other plant and animal species living in the area, according to environmentalists who want the permit halted.

A public hearing on the permit was conducted in December at the request of conservationists who are trying to delay Ahmanson’s proposed 2003 groundbreaking.

The developers said they offered to reduce the amount of wetlands to be filled at Las Virgenes Creek from 7.25 acres to 4.5 acres, and that the recent water board hearing was unnecessary because Ahmanson will seek its own modified permit in February.

In addition to the homes, the development would include two golf courses, several parks and 400,000 square feet of office and commercial space.

"We have created a model of smart growth that balances the preservation of natural resources with the needs of people," said Guy Gniadek, president of the Ahmanson Land Company.

The developers have promised they will build a drainage system with a series of water basins that will filter harmful sediments and pollutants, and "harvest" the runoff to support irrigation and plant growth.

Ahmanson will have its own sewage plant that will also provide water for irrigation. After the reclaimed water is filtered from raw sewage, the solids will be sent to Las Virgenes Municipal Water District’s Tapia plant in Calabasas for final disposal.

Environmentalists, however, are worried that Ahmanson will interfere with new state regulations limiting the amount of wastewater allowed in the creek. State law allows the district to release the water downstream only during winter and spring months when a drop in irrigation creates excess supply.

Tapia produces about 10 million gallons of reclaimed water a day.

The developers said Ahmanson’s irrigation water would be poured onto thirsty parks and golf courses, not into the watershed. The development, in fact, would provide an overall "net benefit" to the local creeks and streams, officials said.

Wiesbrock called the thinking "absurd," repeating earlier charges that Ahmanson Ranch "grabbed" the water rights to Las Virgenes Creek greedily without proper environmental review.

SOS tried unsuccessfully in court to prove that Ahmanson accessed the water rights improperly.

Wiesbrock repeated her earlier request that public funds—perhaps even the $2.6 billion state park bond measure to be voted on in March—could be used to buy the ranch from the developer and turn it into open space.

The developers said they’ve already agreed to put 900 acres of community open space on the site. In addition, they point out that Ahmanson’s 1992 development agreement with Ventura County called for nearly 10,000 acres of adjacent land to be transferred from private to public ownership.