Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting Program for Water Quality in Malibu Creek
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City of Malibu 23825 Stuart Ranch Road · Malibu, California · 90265-4861 Phone (310) 456-2489 · Fax (310) 456-3356 · www.malibucity.org May 4, 2017 Sent via email to [email protected] Mr. Sam Unger, Executive Officer Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board 320 West Fourth Street, Suite 200 Los Angeles, California 90013 RE: Monitoring and Reporting Program for Malibu Civic Center Area Onsite Wastewater Disposal Prohibition and Memorandum of Understanding Dear Mr. Unger: The City of Malibu is submitting the Phase 3 Monitoring Plan for the Civic Center Area Onsite Wastewater Disposal Prohibition. Pursuant to the February 2017 revised Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Malibu and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and State Water Resources Control Board regarding Phased Implementation of Basin Plan Amendment Prohibiting On-Site Wastewater Disposal Systems in the Malibu Civic Center Area, this submittal describes the City’s approach to developing water quality data to evaluate the effectiveness of the Malibu Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility. Should you have questions, please contact Andrew Sheldon, Environmental Sustainability Manager, at [email protected] or 310-456-2489, extension 251. Sincerely, Craig George Environmental Sustainability Director cc: Mayor Peak and Honorable Members of the Malibu City Council Reva Feldman, City Manager Bonnie Blue, Planning Director Rob DuBoux, Assistant Public Works Director Andrew Sheldon, Environmental Sustainability Manager T. Don Tsai, PhD, RWQCB Recycled Paper May 2017 CITY OF MALIBU Monitoring and Reporting Program for Malibu Civic Center Area Onsite Wastewater Disposal Prohibition and Memorandum of Understanding "I certify under penalty of law that this document, including all attachments and supplemental information, was prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gathered and evaluated the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of a fine and imprisonment." Executed on the____ day of ____________ at ________ May, 2017 Malibu, CA __________________________ Signature __________________________ Title Environmental Sustainability Director i CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 SCOPE ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2 HYDROLOGIC, GEOLOGIC, AND HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING ................................................................ 2 2.1 HYDROLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 2 2.2 GEOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 2 2.3 HYDROGEOLOGY ........................................................................................................................... 2 3 SURFACE WATER SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 3 3.1 SURFACE WATER SAMPLING LOCATIONS ..................................................................................... 3 3.2 SURFACE WATER SAMPLING METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 3 3.3 SURFACE WATER LABORATORY ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 3 3.4 ANALYTICAL LABORATORY QA/QC................................................................................................ 4 4 ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE ........................................................................................................................... 4 5 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1 Vicinity Map FIGURE 2 Surface Water Sampling Locations ii Monitoring and Reporting Program For Malibu Civic Center Area Onsite Wastewater Disposal Prohibition And Memorandum of Understanding 1 INTRODUCTION This Monitoring and Reporting Program (Program) describes surface water and groundwater monitoring tasks currently performed by the City of Malibu (City) for the Malibu Civic Center Area (Figure 1). Pursuant to the February 2017 revised Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Malibu and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and State Water Resources Control Board regarding Phased Implementation of Basin Plan Amendment Prohibiting On-Site Wastewater Disposal Systems in the Malibu Civic Center Area (MOU), this submittal describes the City’s approach to collecting and reporting water quality data to evaluate the effectiveness of the Malibu Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility (CCWTF). Specifically, ongoing implementation of this program will provide data to support determinations as to whether the construction and operation of CCWTF Phase One and Two result in meaningful decreases in bacteria and nitrogen in Malibu Lagoon and in the ocean adjacent to Malibu Road homes. 1.1 BACKGROUND On-site wastewater disposal systems (OWDS) have allegedly contributed to the non-point source pollution of Malibu Creek and Lagoon located in the Malibu Civic Center Area. As a result of regulatory actions taken by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to prohibit discharges from OWDS in this area, the City has designed and begun constructing the CCWTF. To establish pre- and post-project groundwater and surface water quality data, the MOU sets forth provisions for surface water monitoring during both wet and dry seasons. 1.2 SCOPE This Program for surface water data collection comprises surface water sampling, laboratory analysis of surface water samples, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) measures. These activities are already being undertaken as part of an ongoing comprehensive groundwater and surface water monitoring program that addresses Waste Discharge Requirements/Water Recycling Requirements (WDR/WRR) Order No. R4-2015-0051 for the CCWTF and the Salt and Nutrient Management Plan for the Malibu Valley Groundwater Basin (RMC, 2015a). The comprehensive monitoring program, which is inclusive of the surface water sampling covered by this Program for the MOU, began in August 2015 and its quarterly reports (and one annual report) have been submitted to the RWQCB since the third quarter of 2015 (Rincon Consultants, 2016). The scope of this Program is limited to surface water monitoring performed in accordance with the MOU. However, during future evaluations of the resulting surface water data, the City may elect to consider additional surface water and/or groundwater monitoring data developed from the comprehensive monitoring program. 2 HYDROLOGIC, GEOLOGIC, AND HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING 2.1 HYDROLOGY The Malibu Civic Center area lies in the Los Angeles hydrologic region, as defined by the RWQCB. The Los Angeles hydrologic region encompasses all coastal drainages flowing to the Pacific Ocean between Rincon Point and the eastern Los Angeles County line. The Malibu Civic Center Area is situated adjacent to the shoreline and lies within two watersheds: the Malibu Creek and Winter Canyon Creek watersheds. The majority of the area is located within the 109–square-mile Malibu Creek watershed, which is the second largest watershed draining to the Santa Monica Bay. The Malibu Creek watershed contains mostly undeveloped mountain areas, large-acreage residential properties, and many natural stream reaches (RWQCB 2011). Malibu Lagoon is located at the terminus of the Malibu Creek watershed. Malibu Lagoon is a brackish estuary of approximately 13 acres but is one of the only two remaining coastal marshes in Los Angeles County. 2.2 GEOLOGY The study area is located within the Santa Monica Mountains in the northwestern corner of the Los Angeles basin. The study area lies at the juncture of the Peninsular Ranges geomorphic province, consisting of a northwest-oriented structural grain, and the Transverse Ranges geomorphic province, which features a predominantly east-west-oriented structural grain. The 45-mile-long Santa Monica Mountains range is part of the southernmost portion of the western Transverse Ranges province. It forms an east-west range of low mountains along the southern California Coast from the Oxnard Plain to Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Mountain range is characterized by long, south draining canyons on its south flank and short, north draining canyons on its north flank. The Malibu Canyon and Winter Canyon are two significant canyons within the study area that drain to the south. 2.3 HYDROGEOLOGY The Malibu Valley Groundwater Basin (DWR groundwater basin no. 4-22) is a small alluvial basin, approximately 613 acres in size. The groundwater basin is bounded by the