Tapia's sewage treatment facility is located at the bottleneck of the watershed and next to the Malibu Creek.
From this position in the watershed, gravity carries waste water from the upper watershed developments to the Tapia facility.
Tapia services five upper watershed cities with a combined population of over 100,000 residents. Before Tapia, the upper watershed took many generations to grow to approximately 3,000 by 1972 when Tapia started it's operations.
This is one of many aerating tanks,

THE TAPIA EFFECT

The Tapia sewage treatment plant (AKA: Las Virgenes Municipal Water District or Tapia Water Reclamation Facility) sits at the bottleneck of the Malibu Creek Watershed. Tapia services the upper watershed cities of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills and Calabasas. It imports drinking water and then treats waste water and discharges it to Malibu Creek from October 31 to May 1. It also recycles the treated water for irrigation.

As of 1997, the Regional Water Quality Control Board limited Tapia's permit to discharge into Malibu Creek, requiring Tapia to cease discharging from May 1 to October 31. Otherwise, Tapia is permitted to discharge 16 million gallons of waste water into Malibu Creek each day.

Tapia's managers declare that the "Tertiary Treated Water" is drinkable. Purvey suggested that they bottle the rest of their "drinkable water" and sell it.

Tertiary treatment has three stages of cleansing waste water: 1) screen out solids from the water, 2) aerate the water, 3) then chlorinate the water.

The UCLA 2000 Study, reports that Tapia's discharge contains Pathogens, as well as high levels of nutrients and nitrates. Additionally, high volumes of Tapia's discharge exacerbates lower watershed problems.

Throughout 1994, Common Cause of Berkley, California, sponsored by the California Coastal Conservancy and the Santa Monica Restoration Project conducted a conflict resolution among 54 stakeholders in the Malibu Creek Watershed. The end product is 111 Action Items that were consolidated into 44 Action Items all stakeholders agreed to implement. These Action Items became part of the Soil Conservation Service's "Malibu Creek Watershed Management Plan" and is called the "Malibu Creek Watershed Action Plan."

Purvey proposed, "Ultimate long-term goal of no-waste discharges into waters used for recreation and/or for sources of food." which is written into action item #28
and it requires Tapia to cease discharging into the Malibu Creek entirely.

Tapia has argued to this day that it is impossible to stop discharging into the creek and this text should be deleted from the Action Plan. However, the Regional Water Quality Control Board insists on keeping it in place and that Tapia should keep trying.

Recently, it has been discovered that Pharmacists encouraged patients to dispose of outdated pharmaceuticals down the toilet. Tapia admits that they do not have the capability of treating drugs and that drugs may pass through their system.

Leading Marine Microbiologist, Dr. Jay Grimes states in the documentary "Malibu Creek and Its Surrounding Watershed" that disease causing bacteria can go into a dormant state, reduce in size and pass, undetected, through the tertiary treatment process and revive once in a host body. Also, waste once deposited into the ocean can meander for hundreds of miles and return back to shore.

Intro - History - Wetland Restoration - The Tapia Effect - Your Carbon Footprint - Video

Tapia's discharge # 1 goes directly into the creek.
The lagoon can fill up within a couple of hours whenever Tapia release its discharge.

There are signs posted around the lagoon, which are apparently ignored.

Over 1.5 Million surfers visitor Surfrider Beach, each year.

Tapia's volume of discharged waste water has caused the beach berm to open and meander into the surf-zone