Malibu delegation demands FEMA release Encinal water pipeline grant Play

Malibu's congressional delegation is demanding answers from the White House as to why it is sitting on promised money for a critically needed Malibu water connection.

A federal grant has been pending for years to build 7,000 feet of water pipes to connect Malibu Waterworks District 29 with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. The pipeline will go up Encinal Canyon Road and provide an emergency water supply for Malibu, should there be a problem with the only other pipe that supplies the city.

That other pipe goes from Culver City across Los Angeles and up PCH across several earthquake faults and landslide zones.

U.S. Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and Rep. Julia Brownley, want to know why $4.9 million promised from the federal government has not been awarded for a year and a half.

FEMA — the Federal Emergency Management Agency — has been converted into a political organization by President Donald Trump. Trump himself has said that federal agencies like FEMA will reward his backers in red states and withhold money from blue states that voted against him.

The elected officials say the Encinal interconnection is essential to protect the reliability of drinking water and fire flow in western Malibu.

FEMA selected the Malibu project for a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program award in December 2024. But they say the project has been significantly delayed due to FEMA's prolonged processing of the award.

The senators and congresswoman say Malibu urgently needs an alternative water source. They say Malibu currently relies on a single 35-mile transmission main that traverses steep, landslide-prone coastal terrain. The Encinal interconnection will provide drinking water and fire protection for up to 23,000 residents.

The total project cost is approximately $9 million, with just over half that promised by FEMA back in December 2024.

The project has already completed tough county and Coastal Commission environmental reviews. But FEMA is insisting on a new environmental review, even though the project is limited to buried pipeline installation within an existing roadway.