City Breaks Ground on One Aspect of Municipal Water Program

Legacy Park Is Part of Equation

Surfboards were propped against bulldozers in an interesting juxtaposition of what could be divergent interests at Monday’s kickoff for the construction of Legacy Park, the centerpiece of the city’s $50-million-plus plan to address one aspect of water pollution in Malibu Creek and Malibu Lagoon and at Surfrider Beach.
“Legacy Park is going to act as Malibu’s environmental cleaning machine,” according to Mayor Andy Stern. “It will reduce pollution from stormwater, improve the city’s water quality, and allow residents to enjoy the health and recreation benefits of an open space area and a clean ocean” to the extent that it can, he added
Dignitaries taking part in the orchestrated “first shovel” included Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Malibu’s state Senator Fran Pavley and Malibu Assemblymember Julia Brownley.
Completion is planned for October 2010. The project will do double duty as a public park in addition to serving as a stormwater treatment facility.
In January, the city authorized funds for the design and engineering of a wastewater treatment system for the Civic Center area in response to criticism and legal prodding from environmental groups that want the city to speed up work on this aspect of local water pollution control.