Groups study pollution cleanup strategy

A consortium of public agencies, environmental groups and private citizens are working together to comply with clean water laws and to help stop the local pollution.

Officials agree that more stringent conservation and recycling efforts are needed if the local beaches and waterways are to be protected.

The North Santa Monica Bay Watersheds Task Force is concerned with a 109-mile area at the southwestern end of Los Angeles County and the southern end of Ventura County. Malibu Creek, Topanga Creek and other rural Santa Monica Mountain watersheds make up the group.

Within the area, eight sub-watersheds have been identified, including Hidden Valley, Westlake Village, Lindero Canyon, Palo Comado, Las Virgenes Canyon, Triunfo Canyon, Cold Creek Canyon and Malibu Canyon. These watersheds drain into the Santa Monica Bay via the Malibu Creek.

Officials have been meeting monthly for the past year-and-ahalf to devise a plan that deals with algae, bacteria, pesticides and trash that end up in Topanga Creek, Malibu Creek and other rural watersheds within the Santa Monica Mountains. Eventually, the pollutants converge and enter the ocean.

Adding to the challenge, the watershed task force must contend with new state and federal laws, including the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, Total Maximum Daily Loads, and Assembly Bill 885, which addresses septic systems.

The watershed group is working in conjunction with Los Angeles County in hopes of developing a comprehensive water management plan for the entire region.

Many public agencies are involved in cleaning up watersheds and the implementation of conservation measures. The lead agency is the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Five cities (Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks and Malibu), and nine other agencies, including Caltrans, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Ventura County, the Coastal Commission and the Department of Fish and Game, are also participating.

Other agencies that are involved include Tree-People, Sierra Club, equestrian organizations, Heal The Bay, the Mountains Restoration Trust and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy-to name a few.

Among the issues under study is the widening of Cross Creek Bridge at Malibu Creek.

Another project involves the Malibu Bay Club Onsite Wastewater Treatment Plant and calls for the construction of a new treatment plant to replace the septic tanks that currently serve a group of 136 condominiums.

A variety of solutions are being discussed, including community education programs, water conservation incentives and water quality monitoring programs.

An Integrated Regional Water Management Strategic Plan takes a wider view to solving the area's pollution problems. This group meets regularly to discuss water supply and water quality needs for the region, and strategies to integrate and streamline the efforts of all the groups and agencies that are dedicated to solving pollution problems.

In all, 79 cities, homeowners associations, environmental group and government agencies have been named as participants in the anti-pollution movement.

For more information on upcoming watershed meetings, call the Los Angeles Department of Public Works at (626) 458-4341.