If you had to assume a region that pound for pound had the highest population of outspoken environmentalists, Malibu Beach in California has to be near the top. Now these same folks may have to submit to DNA tests to see who is polluting the ocean from their septic systems.
Is it Barbara Streisand? Tom Hanks? Or maybe Sting? Ted Danson or Pierce Bronan are also in the mix.
The real irony is that these people have fought for the right to maintain their own septic systems even though they live right on the Ocean. Talk about playing with fire. Now beaches are being closed because of contamination that is coming from the Malibu region that could cause
“This is going to get messy,” predicts Mark Pestrella, the public works official assigned to the project.
Environmentalists and health officials suspect Malibu homeowners’ leaky septic tanks are allowing what gets flushed down the toilet to flow down the hills and into the Pacific Ocean. To identify the offenders, authorities intend to use DNA testing and, if necessary, get court warrants to inspect septic tanks. And that includes tanks buried in the backyards of Hollywood celebrities.
Malibu, whose spectacular seaside cliffs, canyons and beaches have attracted numerous environmentally minded celebrities over the years, including Sting and Tom Hanks, was incorporated in 1991 specifically to stop construction of a sewer line. There are an estimated 2,400 septic tanks in this city of multimillion-dollar homes strung along 25 miles of coast.
Malibu residents fiercely guard their privacy and their right to use septic tanks, and many deny their septic systems are the source of dangerous ocean bacteria levels that rise sharply after heavy rains. via KTLA
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