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LA County Water Works District 29 briefs Malibu council on $190M in planned projects, generator and interconnection work
Summary
County Water Works District 29 told the council it serves roughly 22,000 customers in District 29, is mobilizing a Carbon Canyon water-main project in January with completion targeted for 2027, and expects roughly $190 million in infrastructure spending over five years while pursuing $30 million in pending grant applications.
Representatives from LA County Water Works District 29 updated the council on infrastructure projects affecting Malibu. Area engineer Bill Johnson and Carolina Hernandez, assistant deputy director and general manager for LA County Public Works, outlined a multi-project program that includes water-main upgrades, pump-station and reservoir improvements, emergency power hardening and new interconnections to strengthen supply resiliency.
Key points: District 29 serves approximately 22,000 customers in the Malibu area and manages about 220 miles of water main. The Carbon Canyon water-main project will replace about 7,000 feet of pipeline and include pump-station improvements; staff said mobilization and potholing are underway with construction expected to start in earnest by January and conclude by 2027. The Lower Bush Tank is a planned 385,000-gallon steel tank with a $500,000 Proposition 1 grant already secured. The district reported $28 million spent over the last five years and said it hopes to invest about $190 million in the next five years. It has secured roughly $3.5 million in grants and has pending applications totaling up to $30 million.
On emergency preparedness, the district has purchased 10 generators in the last two years and is installing automatic transfer switches at pump stations so crews can rapidly connect generators during public-safety power shutoffs (PSPS). Staff said they receive PSPS notices from Southern California Edison ideally two days in advance, and that deployment is targeted to vulnerable pump locations; several council members asked about prepositioning generators and site access during fires. District staff said physical site constraints (narrow canyon roads and confined pump-station footprints) limit permanent onsite storage of large generators.
Council members pressed staff on siting, timeline, the role of interconnections (an Encinal Canyon interconnect with Las Virgenes Municipal Water District targeted for 2027) and hydrant/valve maintenance. Hernandez and Johnson said they will continue working with city staff on scheduling and community outreach and share project fact sheets on the district's website.
