WLAM Scores Victory By Preventing Seawall At Surfrider Beach!

Members of the WLAM Chapter, together with other organizations, scored a Surfrider Foundation victory by successfully removing a proposed seawall from the planned replacement of the septic tanks at Malibu Surfrider Beach.

In 2007, County Public Works put forward a project to update septic systems at 15 bathrooms at Zuma, Point Dume, Topanga Beach, and Surfrider Beach.

To prevent septic effluent connecting to the ocean during very large storm events (1% or 100-year storms), Public Works proposed the construction of a barrier seawall — 90′ long, 25′ deep, and 3′ under the sand.

Seawalls go against ocean and beach stewardship principles promoted by the Surfrider Foundation. Among those reasons, West LA/Malibu Chapter members were worried that, during high surf or with sea level rises in the future, the ocean would come into contact more frequently with the seawall, reflecting incoming waves back into the surfzone, and spoiling the shape of the beautiful waves that make Surfrider Beach world-famous.

Working collaboratively with LACo Public Works, LACo Beaches and Harbors, Heal the Bay, Santa Monica Baykeeper, the Malibu Surfing\ Association, and the office of LACo Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky (3 rd District), WLAM volunteers were able reconfigure the septic system in such a way that a seawall was no longer necessary.

A win for the environment. A win for taxpayers. And a win for surfers. Stay involved!

Sign the petition that still is still live here – http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=319.