Improvements to Broad Beach Storm Drains in the Works

To meet the conditions of a water quality settlement with two environmental groups, the Malibu City Council will consider funding the design of planned improvements to an additional storm drain inlet at Broad Beach next week.

The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at .

In the lawsuit, which was , the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Santa Monica Baykeeper alleged the city had violated the Clean Water Act.

Under the settlement, the city agreed to pay $750,000 in legal fees, make improvements on 17 drains, and allocate $250,000 toward the city's Ocean Health Water Assessment program, which will create water quality monitoring along Malibu's shoreline, according to City Attorney Christi Hogin. The total cost of the retrofits could reach up to $5.6 million.

Some of the improvements to the drains were already planned, including eight storm drain inlets at Broad Beach. Most of the improvements along the northern shoulder of Broad Beach Road were expected to be paid for by a grant from the State Water Board, according to a report prepared by Malibu's Senior Civil Engineer Robert DuBoux.

"The settlement agreement included improvements to one additional storm drain inlet, a design that wil reduce bacteria levels and eliminate non-stormwater discharges, and the installation of monitoring and sampling equipment," DuBoux wrote.

The council will consider upping the project's estimated design cost by $113,000 to $767,800 in the agreement with Geosyntec Consultants.

Part of Malibu's coastline is known as an Area of Special Biological Significance (ASBS), and a federal district court found the city liable in 2010 for discharging polluted runoff. The ASBS runs from Latigo Point to the Ventura County line.