• Groundbreaking on innovative stormwater and environmental restoration project set for September
MALIBU, CA, Aug. 11, 2009 -- Following through with their commitment to improve water quality, Malibu City Councilmembers voted unanimously on Monday to award a $6.3 million construction contract to LH Engineering Co. Inc. to create Legacy Park, one of California's most innovative stormwater and urban runoff projects.
LH Engineering Co. Inc. is expected to launch construction in September on Legacy Park, the centerpiece of the City of Malibu's more than $50 million dollar commitment to clean water. The project will transform 15 acres in the heart of Malibu into a central park that will serve as an environmental cleaning machine, capturing, cleaning and disinfecting more than 2 million gallons per day of stormwater and urban runoff that flow from the surrounding watershed. Construction is scheduled to be completed by October 2010.
"The Legacy Park construction contract award is a significant step forward in completing an innovative stormwater and urban runoff project that will reduce pollution and improve water quality in Malibu Creek, Malibu Lagoon and the world-famous Surfrider Beach," said Malibu Mayor Andy Stern. "The City of Malibu is excited to get this vital clean-water project underway so that children and adults can soon enjoy the health and recreational benefits of additional open space and a clean ocean."
The project will also restore and develop important riparian habitat and create an open space area for passive recreation and environmental education. In addition, it will provide a living learning center for six coastal habitats.
The Legacy Park Project has won significant support from organizations and political leaders, including the Annenberg Foundation, Santa Monica College, U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), State Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), and State Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica).
Rep. Waxman called Legacy Park "an excellent project that will have far-reaching benefits" and said it will "provide significant ecological gain."
"The creation and restoration of native habitat on nearly 15 acres of vacant land adjacent to the Malibu Creek and Lagoon will help protect the natural resources in a recognized National Estuary," Waxman said in a recent letter in support of the project. "This 'green infrastructure' project will create rare and valuable habitat, restore degraded natural resources and protect fish habitat for two endangered fish species."
The Legacy Park Project has undergone a comprehensive environmental permitting and design process, which included extensive public review and participation. The project's design team included some of California's most respected engineering, stormwater, wastewater and environmental restoration experts.
A technical advisory committee, composed of environmental and scientific community specialists, provided extensive input, resulting in several specific innovative design elements being included in the project, such as harvesting the stormwater within the Civic Center watershed area and recycling it for park irrigation and utilizing natural biological filtering processes to remove sediments from the stormwater.
On Monday, the council also voted to authorize City Manager Jim Thorsen to execute a contract of up to $1.1 million for construction of the Paradise Cove Stormwater Treatment Facility Project to improve water quality at Paradise Beach. Bids are scheduled to be opened and the contract awarded in September. Construction is scheduled to be completed by March 2010.
In addition to the Legacy Park and Paradise Cove stormwater projects, the City of Malibu is preparing plans for a centralized wastewater system for its Civic Center area, authorizing $2.6 million in January 2009 for design and engineering.
The City of Malibu was incorporated on March 28, 1991. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, the City has 21 miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean and a population of 12,575. For more information on the city and the project, please visit http://www.ci.malibu.ca.us/ and http://www.malibulegacy.org/.
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