City of Malibu Holds Ceremony for Groundbreaking of the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility

Wednesday, June 29th, the City of Malibu held a ceremony to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility, marking the beginning of the largest infrastructural project in the City’s history. The treatment facility will treat, reuse and/or dispose of wastewater flow from properties in the Civic Center. It also will be able to produce up to 70 million gallons of reusable water per year. This event serves as an important step in the right direction for the city of Malibu to help alleviate the effects of the drought by using the treated water for irrigation and city landscaping. Malibu is one of the first of many cities across the state leading the way in this environmentally friendly effort.

“The groundbreaking of the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility marks an important milestone in Malibu’s environmental mission,” says mayor Laura Rosenthal. “The facility will enable Malibu to protect the natural environment that we cherish, while meeting state mandates to end the use of septic systems in the Civic Center area and producing recycled water to reduce Malibu’s reliance on potable water.”

The project for the CCWTF began back in 2011 in response to a Los Angeles regulatory action that prohibited discharges from onsite septic systems in the Civic Center area of Malibu. Since this time, the city has worked with multiple individuals, groups, and agencies that include scientists, engineers, environmentalists, state government bodies, and federal government bodies to put this plan into action. By working with a multitude of experts on this project the city can ensure that they produce the cleanest, safest, and most environmentally friendly result they possibly can.

The new treatment center will be located at 24000 Civic Center Way. The Assessment District that will fund the approximately $57 million project was approved by Civic Center property owners in January 2016.

The groundbreaking of this project is just one of the recent examples of how the City is making a big effort to be responsible about the use of water. Just earlier this month the City hosted its inaugural ‘One Water Festival’ at the Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School. The purpose of the event was to make people aware of ways to conserve water while inspiring and activating people to do something about it. Bravo to the City for being a constant reminder on how to be efficient with our resources and stay environmentally friendly.