Malibu Lagoon sewer expansion pegged at $131 million Play

It's going to cost about $131 million to connect the next group of houses and businesses in the Malibu Lagoon area to the city's sewage plant at the Civic Center. $131 million is the new estimate from city engineers who are drawing up tentative plans right now for Phase 2 at the Malibu Civic Center sewage plant.

Sixteen years ago, the state water board ordered an end to the use of septic tanks in the Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider Beach areas, including the Malibu Colony. Nutrients — things like nitrogen and phosphorus — were coming out of the sewage, feeding naturally occurring bacteria in the lagoon and the beach. Studies showed that no human pathogens were passing from the septic tanks, but the state water board ordered that stopped in 2015.

Phase 2 of the sewer connection system was supposed to be finished seven years ago. Monday night the City Council will consider creating a tax assessment district to build it. This would be hooked into the existing sewer plant that's handling Phase 1. Phase 1 handles all of the businesses in the Civic Center and was designed for this expansion to be done easily and cost-effectively.

Monday the City Council will vote on creating the assessment district. If given the green light, the city will hire an engineer to determine how much each property owner has to pay based on the land and the amount of toilets and sinks that they have. Each property owner gets a proportional vote.

Besides a cleaner lagoon and ocean, the major benefit would be for property owners to get out of the state ban on new construction.