Posted on February 18, 2026
Residents demand accountability as aging septic systems, stalled repairs, and marine debris from the Palisades Fire intensify concerns over stewardship of Surfrider, Zuma and others
“Terrifyingly embarrassing,” “inexcusable,” “perplexing,” and “infuriating.” Those phrases describe the feelings expressed by many Malibuites concerning the inoperative restrooms at Surfrider Beach and other Malibu beaches that force beachgoers to use port-a-potties.
“It’s awful for Malibu’s most iconic beach, Surfrider, to have non-working toilets and a large port-a-potty taking up parking spaces in the small parking lot!” said Andy Lyons, a Malibu native and community advocate.
The problem is not new. The problem is not news to the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches & Harbors. The problem offends and inconveniences locals and visitors alike. In Lyons’ view, the problem should not exist and should be immediately addressed.
“Malibu’s beaches deserve real stewardship, not slide decks!”
Noting that Malibu’s public beach restrooms have been closed for years and septic tanks continue to need repairs, Malibu Councilmember Haylynn Conrad has doggedly pressed Beaches & Harbors to address Malibu’s unsanitary and unsightly beach bathrooms.
“Our community and visitors deserve real facilities, regular maintenance and consistent trash pickup on our beaches andwe need to demand better. Malibu’s beaches deserve real stewardship, not slide decks,” Conrad declared. “I have been pushing Beaches & Harbors for months to finally repair the public bathrooms in Malibu so we are not forced to rely on porta-potties that the county is already paying for. I drove to Marina Del Rey to attend the Beach Commission meeting on Jan. 28 in person when they finally put Malibu on the agenda. They voted to allocate $1.3 million to repair our beach bathrooms which I am pleased about — I’m grateful to see that move forward.”
At the commission meeting, Beaches & Harbors staff provided data regarding beach bathroom closures. The data reveal that bathrooms at Surfrider and Topanga beaches have been closed since June 2024. Bathroom number four at Zuma Beach has been closed since April 2022. Zuma Beach bathroom number seven has been closed since July 2023. September 2024 marked the last time that beachgoers could use Zuma bathrooms numbered one and eight.Bathroom numbers three, six, and nine are open on Zuma Beach as are the bathrooms at Zuma lifeguard headquarters and Zuma yard.
Addressing dysfunctional septic tanks on Malibu beaches
Staff from Beaches & Harbors informed commissioners and the public that common septic tank issues at Malibu beaches include sewage leaks and spills, sewage backups, and the need for emergency pump-out services. The commission is taking a phased approach to repairing the restrooms that are not open and to upgrading restrooms at Point Dume, placing Surfrider on the fast track, with that project slated for completion by the end of this month. The projected completion for repairing and upgrading Zuma bathrooms one and nine, as well as three restrooms at Point Dume is December 2026. Plans are being developed to repair and upgrade restroom facilities at Zuma lifeguard headquarters, Zuma Yard, and Zuma bathrooms two, three, six, and eight.
Commission staff listened to a presentation regarding the department maintaining and operating 18 septic systems in Malibu. Repair assessments were conducted by a certified septic system vendor, and locations for repair were selected based on the extent of repairs needed at each location. Septic repairs involve replacing floats and pumps, PVC Checkvalve relief and piping as well as replacing fans, filters, chemical pumps, blenders, UV lights and housings, flow meters, lids and concrete surrounding lids, installing new electrical conduit, splice boxes, and ensuring watertight connections, according to the presentation.
Malibuite Madelyn Glickfeld has served on the Beach Commission for two and a half years and was appointed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. She explained that budgetary limitations are requiring a phased approach to the beach bathroom repairs and upgrades in Malibu. “The county’s budget is in dire straits,” Glickfeld stated. “There is not enough money to complete the project to repair all of Malibu’s beach bathrooms in 2026.”
The Zuma underpass and other Malibu bridge concerns
Glickfeld, who has lived in Malibu for 35 years, has previously served on the Wastewater Advisory Board, is a former commissioner serving on the Coastal Commission, and has worked on the water resources working group. She addressed another agenda item at the beach commission meeting, to wit, conditions at the Zuma underpass.
“We want to make sure that the sand coming from the mountains makes it all the way to the ocean because that is how beaches are replenished,” Glickfeld explained. “Over the years, Caltrans has dumped dirt from its projects. All up and down the coast, we are facing an engineering issue as bridges are no longer sufficient to allow sand to go through. At the Zuma underpass, water collects when we get as little as 2 inches of rain and we have to close it. They haven’t raised the bridges at Bonsall and Busch either.”
Glickfeld explained that the Beach Commission, “Has no regulatory authority, merely advises the county supervisors and only holds four meetings a year.” The commission expresses concerns to Beaches and Harbors, which then brings matters to the attention of the Los Angeles Regional Water Board, she added.
Debris on beaches
The commission also addressed what Glickfeld described as the ever-increasing problem of beachgoers dumping garbage on beaches. “We need to stop grooming beaches with tractors because doing so hurts natural beaches and pre-dune habitats and their ecosystems,” she emphasized. Another priority for the commission in Glickfeld’s view is for the county to more strongly address sea level rise, large wave protection, and beach retention, especially at Zuma Beach so that sand collects at Westward Beach naturally.
“The county is working on three pilot projects,” she stated. “Zuma, Point Dume State Beach, and Westward beaches are one project and Topanga Lagoon restoration is another. The third pilot project is at Dockweiler.”
Glickfeld acknowledged that people are very frustrated with the management of Malibu’s beaches, and she encourages citizens to show up at commission meetings as well as to send commissioners and county supervisors letters and to make telephone calls expressing their concerns.
Collection of fire debris on East Malibu beaches
Conrad and Glickfeld both voiced extreme concerns about the amount of debris on Malibu’s beaches due to the fire and recent rains. Conrad directed Malibu Times to Darren Graves, who is spearheading efforts to clean up debris caused by the Palisades Fire.
Graves characterized his and other volunteers’ efforts as addressing, “The ongoing saga of fire debris removal from public lands beyond the realm of private property in East Malibu from Duke’s to Topanga Boulevard.”
“Starting in March of 2025, we started pulling fire debris from the ocean and I would estimate that we removed between three to five tons within three months,” Graves said. “When there were storms, the beach sand dropped between 7 and 8 feet, and debris was exposed.”
The all-volunteer crew is primarily composed of the Sutton sisters, Graves explained, noting that Julie Sutton Bacino, her spouse and Suzie Sutton Rottman and her spouse, “removed debris because no one else did. We in Malibu are stewards of the environment — Malibuites always clean up the beach.”
“The ocean in Malibu is hurting.”
Last year, Malibu Times reported that Barbara Gentile, co-owner of Malibu Divers and the company’s director of education, was spearheading an effort to address Palisades Fire marine debris. Gentile is extremely worried about the status of the marine ecosystems and coral reefs along the Malibu coastline after the fire and subsequent rains, both of which deposited toxic debris near and on coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Gentile is also a public safety diver for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Reserve Dive Team and American Academy of Underwater Sciences diver with Reef Check.
At the Beach Commission meeting, Gentile gave a presentation entitled, “The Blue Force™: Mobilizing citizen divers for local ocean recovery.”
“Our aim is to restore our shores and utilize a collaborative effort to rebuild and protect Malibu’s marine ecosystem,” Gentile explained to commissioners that on April 1, 2025, she led a scuba diving operation focusing on surveying the debris afflicting the coastline from Carbon Beach to Chautauga Boulevard. “Due to the fire and extreme rainfall, debris, an estimated nine miles of coastline were negatively impacted. The ocean in Malibu is hurting. Fires. Floods. Runoff. All of those are endangering marine ecosystems, which could collapse.”
The Palisades Fire ocean recovery area includes the Rustic Canyon storm drain, the ocean along Chautauga Boulevard, Temescal Canyon Road, Coastline Drive, and Las Flores, Gentile informed. “Solving these real problems requires more than testing — it also involves lobbying for funding and it takes observation, empathy and action! Environmental action is what we need to do because our ecosystems need us.”
“The ocean needs our help. Doing nothing is not the answer”
Gentile’s call to action involves activating The Blue Force to demonstrate that, “we value where we live and address underwater debris damage in service to Malibu and our planet.”
Malibu Times asked Gentile about necessary next steps to activate The Blue Force. She explained the need to focus on identifying the experts needed, funding a boat equipped with side sonar that can detect debris, recruiting qualified divers and determining a cleanup plan focusing on team organization and funding.
“At the end of the day, we need funding to pay for the effort because we need professional staff and boats,” Gentile noted. “We need to restore the reefs. If a person has garbage in his backyard, he wouldn’t use it for planting vegetables to eat. The concerns along the shoreline are analogous — the settlement and debris settle and poisons the marine environment. There is no doubt in my mind that we need to take action now! Recovery is the missing step between assessing the damage and resiliency — assessing the damage without recovery is an incomplete response to this disaster. The ocean needs our help! Clearly, doing nothing is not the answer.”
