Point Dume Creek Outfall Gets Poor Grades in Beach Report

• Creek Whose Name Is Unfamiliar to Many Malibuites Is Now in Pollution Spotlight

BY BILL KOENEKER

Walnut Creek is a little-known stream that empties into the Pacific Ocean along the coves between Little Dume and Paradise Cove. The outfall, so to speak, is a pretty little waterfall that spills onto the sand.

While picturesque, the creek that is now a stream because the winter rainfall, albeit limited, runs year-round (old-timers say it used to be dry most of the year before the areas around it became developed and began to add greater amounts of water into the ground) and often produces polluted water that flows into some of the best surf breaks along Malibu.

The last week of February was no exception for poor water quality. The weekly beach report provided by Heal the Bay gave the outfall a flunking grade.

That is in stark contrast to the rest of the coastline where, from Leo Carrillo to Solstice Canyon, all of the shoreline received A- plus grades.

The Walnut Creek location was only recently added to the sites included in the beach report by Heal the Bay. The testing began when the city and county expanded the number of testing locations to establish a baseline for ocean water along the coastline.

While extensive study is underway for nearby streams including Ramirez Canyon, which recently scored an A plus for the same week ending Feb. 28, the little known creek does not have the same amount of data compilation, making comparisons and the determination of cause more difficult.

Some observers speculate that the Point Dume ravine’s headwaters originate above the location of several condominium complexes, and the waters of Walnut Creek could be subject to the success or failure of those condos’ septic systems. But that is conjecture. Until further study is undertaken, the reason for the flunking grades is expected to remain unknown.

Other spots along the eastern half of the coastline in Malibu also received flunking grades, including Surfrider Beach at the breach location, Carbon Beach at Sweetwater Canyon, Las Flores Creek at the beach and Topanga State Beach at the creek mouth.

The Sweetwater Canyon outfall could prove to be an interesting case study at the moment, since the beachfront hotel that some may have thought was the culprit behind the consistently poor water quality grades at the outfall is closed, which means the finger pointers must now look elsewhere.

Other testing locations got less than stellar grades. Marie Canyon storm drain at Malibu Road was given a C grade. A testing location 50 yards east of the Malibu Pier scored a D. The pair of testing locations at Big Rock and Pena Creek were given Bs.

The beach report is not just an academic exercise. Health concerns for those who go into the water in these areas drive public policy to clean them up.

The beaches are graded on an A-F scale that is based on the risk of ocean users becoming ill.

Water samples from test sites are analyzed for bacteria that indicate the presence of biological pollution.