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Overview
Phase 1 of the Malibu Lagoon Restoration Project (the Water Treatment Parking lot) was completed at the beginning of April. The new parking utilizes a smaller footprint allowing for more than 1 acre of additional habitat on the project site. Additionally, the parking lot will capture, treat, and infiltrate 3.2 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period in the three newly created bio-swales. More than 3,000 native plants were installed in the parking lot. Numerous other improvements have also been made such as the educational/interpretive node, additional picnic and sitting areas, a new shower (donated by Malibu Surfing Association and Santa Monica Baykeeper), additional bus parking, and a new bicycle rack. The design and parking lot construction made great efforts to use environmentally friendly building materials.The parking lot was officially opened April 14th.
Since the early 1900's, increased human activity
has degraded the Malibu Lagoon and the surrounding
wetland ecosystem.
To address this situation, Heal
the Bay, in cooperation with the California Department
of Parks and Recreation under a grant from the
California State Coastal Conservancy, has coordinated
the preparation of a restoration plan for Malibu
Lagoon (please see sidebar on the right).
Background
Malibu Lagoon is a 13 acre shallow water embayment
occurring at the terminus of the Malibu Creek
Watershed, the second largest watershed draining
into Santa Monica Bay. Malibu Lagoon empties
into the Pacific Ocean at world famous Malibu
Surfrider Beach. World renowned as a surfing
and recreational destination. Surfrider Beach
receives approximately 1.5 million visitors
every year.
Malibu
Lagoon has undergone many changes in its
recent history. The lagoon had previously
been used as a dump site for fill material
by Cal Trans and others in the 1950’s
and 60’s. By the late 1970’s
the site was completely filled and housed
two baseball fields. The size of the lagoon
has been greatly diminished by urban development
along the coast. In addition, urbanization
upstream in the Malibu Creek Watershed has
increased the volume of water transported
into the lagoon and urban pollution has significantly
diminished the quality of that water.
In
1983, the California Department of Parks
and Recreation initiated a restoration of
the lagoon. The restoration involved the
excavation of three channels with sloping
mudflats to reintroduce tidal flow. The mudflats
rose to create pickelweed marshes and upland
habitat. The channels were seeded with salt
marsh plants and series of boardwalks were
created to allow access by the public. In
1996, the California Department of Transportation
(CalTrans) funded a successful restoration
program to mitigate for impacts incurred
during the Malibu Lagoon Bridge Replacement
Project. Specific restoration measures, coordinated
by the Resource Conservation District and
California State Parks, included the very
successful tidewater goby habitat enhancement
project and the revegetation of areas disturbed
by construction activities with native species,
including extensive removal of nonnatives.
Recently,
the California State Coastal Conservancy
funded a study by UCLA (see sidebar on right
side fo this page) to: 1) identify impacts
to the ecological health and water quality
in the lower creek and lagoon ecosystems
and 2) provide recommendations on how to
best manage these impacts. The study produced
three categories of recommendations; the
installation of best management practices
(BMPs) to improve water quality, the creation
of treatment wetlands to enhance the water
quality of stormwater runoff, and restoration
of existing wetland habitat to enhance their
ecological functioning.
Following
a year long facilitation process, the restoration
of the existing lagoon area and small parcel
on the east side of the creek adjacent to
the Adamson House was identified as the highest
priority Short Term project. Utilizing a
grant provided by the California Coastal
Conservancy, Heal the Bay is working with
a variety of public and private partners
to develop the Malibu Lagoon Enhancement
Project. The purpose of this project is to
design a restoration plan for the Malibu
Lagoon ecosystem that provides the greatest
benefit for enhanced ecosystem structure
and function while accommodating the various
stakeholders in the region to preserve and
enhance recreational use activities.
To
achieve this goal, the selected consultant
will work closely with Heal the Bay, California
Department of Parks and Recreation, California
State Coastal Conservancy, the Lagoon Technical
Advisory Committee (LTAC), and the Lagoon
Restoration Working Group (LRWG) as well
as various city, county and state agencies.
For
more information, contact Heal
the Bay Staff Scientist at 310-451-1500.
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