Malibu, California
Malibu Municipal Code Chapter 9.40 (Ord. 451 § 2, 2019) prohibits installing, maintaining, or using a self-regenerating water softener on properties served by or connected to the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility. That is a Civic Center sewer-side rule — not a citywide Malibu ban and not a statewide ban. Addresses not on that facility are outside this file’s prohibition. The 2025 District 29 report prints two hardness columns, not a citywide blend.
- Hardness (Weymouth)234 ppm (range 189–280)
- Hardness (Jensen)140 ppm (range 137–142)
- Chlorine (distribution)1.5 ppm (range 1.4–1.6)
- HAA5 (distribution)5.3 ppb (range 3.8–5.7)
- TTHMs (distribution)19.0 ppb (range 10–31)
On the report
- Hardness
- Weymouth Plant column 234 ppm as CaCO3 (range 189–280). Jensen Plant column 140 ppm (range 137–142). Those are two labeled plant columns, not a blended citywide number. Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 2025 Annual Water Quality Report. — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 2025 Annual Water Quality Report
- Disinfectant
- Chlorine as Cl2 1.5 ppm (range 1.4–1.6) in the distribution-system column of the 2025 PRIMARY table. Narrative says ozone is the primary disinfectant and chloramines (chlorine plus ammonia) are secondary. Chloramine, not free chlorine only. — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 2025 Annual Water Quality Report
- Sanitation district
- City of Malibu Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- Self-regenerating salt softeners prohibited (district rule). Malibu Municipal Code Chapter 9.40 (Ord. 451 § 2, 2019), Ban of On-Site Self-Regenerating Water Softeners and Regulating Previously Installed Self-Regenerating Water Softeners. § 9.40.010 defines a self-regenerating water softener as water softening equipment or a conditioning appliance that discharges, or is designed to discharge, brine into a sanitary sewer system (including, but not limited to, the Civic Center Water Treatment Facility), an on-site wastewater treatment system, a stormwater conveyance system, or onto the ground. The definition does not include non-brine discharging, salt-free water softening appliances such as those utilizing exchange tanks, electronic, membrane, magnetic, or carbon systems. Brine means a heavily concentrated solution containing sodium, potassium, or chloride. § 9.40.020(A) says no person shall install, or in any manner assist in the installation of, maintain, or use a self-regenerating water softener in the area served by or from properties connected to the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility. § 9.40.020(B) requires the owner and any occupant or lessee to remove a unit installed in violation of (A) within one year of the effective date of the ordinance codified in the chapter. The city’s Civic Center flyer sets that compliance date as October 28, 2020 for properties connected to the facility. § 9.40.030 (Exemptions) lets the city manager waive § 9.40.020(A) or (B) if the applicant shows special circumstances and, by clear and convincing evidence, that no reasonably feasible alternative exists; a waiver may run up to 12 months, with or without conditions, and a renewal must be filed no later than 60 days before it expires; the city manager’s decision may be appealed to the city council within five calendar days. § 9.40.040 adds Chapter 1.10 administrative penalties on top of other criminal, civil, or legal remedies. That is a Civic Center WWTF sewer-side rule — not a citywide Malibu ban and not a statewide ban. Addresses not connected to the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility are outside this file’s prohibition. Ask the agency on the sewer bill about the address.
Also around here
Extra context besides the utility report and the chart above — geology, an unregulated table, or a published study. Not a second set of printed tap numbers.
- MicroplasticsWHO’s 2019 review examined studies that found microplastic particles in treated tap and bottled water in many places. That is a published-occurrence finding, not a number from this city’s water-quality report, and we do not invent a particles-per-liter count for the tap.Microplastics in drinking-water — World Health Organization
- Lead and copper at the tapThe 2025 report prints 2023 volunteer-tap lead and copper. Thirty-eight sites. None exceeded the action level.Lead 90th percentile 0 ppb (0/38 above AL 15). Copper 90th percentile 0.10 ppm (0/38 above AL 1.3). Sampled 2023.2025 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA1910204) — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29
- Other labeled Weymouth / Jensen columnsThe same 2025 tables print these as two labeled plant columns, not a citywide blend we invented.Chloride Weymouth 92 ppm (range 86–98), Jensen 49 ppm (range 46–52). TDS Weymouth 536 ppm (range 456–617), Jensen 297 ppm (range 293–301). Sodium Weymouth 89 ppm (range 78–100), Jensen 48 ppm (range 46–50). Fluoride plant columns 0.7 ppm / 0.7 ppm.2025 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA1910204) — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29
- PFAS and chromium-6The 2025 District 29 tables we opened do not print a PFAS detection row or a hexavalent chromium row. This file does not invent either number.2025 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA1910204) — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29
Malibu’s rule on this file is a Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility sewer ordinance, not a citywide salt-softener ban and not a statewide ban. Chapter 9.40 (Ord. 451 § 2, 2019), Ban of On-Site Self-Regenerating Water Softeners and Regulating Previously Installed Self-Regenerating Water Softeners. Addresses that are not served by or connected to the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility are outside this file’s prohibition. Ask Public Works or the agency on the sewer bill about the address.
§ 9.40.010: a self-regenerating water softener is water softening equipment or a conditioning appliance that discharges, or is designed to discharge, brine into a sanitary sewer system (including, but not limited to, the Civic Center Water Treatment Facility), an on-site wastewater treatment system, a stormwater conveyance system, or onto the ground. The definition does not include non-brine discharging, salt-free water softening appliances such as those utilizing exchange tanks, electronic, membrane, magnetic, or carbon systems. Brine means a heavily concentrated solution containing sodium, potassium, or chloride.
§ 9.40.020(A): no person shall install, or in any manner assist in the installation of, maintain, or use a self-regenerating water softener in the area served by or from properties connected to the Civic Center Wastewater Treatment Facility. § 9.40.020(B): the owner, and any occupant or lessee of the property, shall remove a unit installed in violation of (A) within one year of the effective date of the ordinance codified in the chapter. The city’s Civic Center flyer — supporting, not a substitute for the code — says properties connected to that facility had to be in compliance by October 28, 2020. § 9.40.030 (Exemptions): the city manager may waive § 9.40.020(A) or (B) if the applicant shows special circumstances and, by clear and convincing evidence, that no reasonably feasible alternative exists. A waiver may run up to 12 months, with or without conditions; a renewal must be filed no later than 60 days before it expires and is reviewed anew. The city manager’s decision may be appealed to the city council within five calendar days. § 9.40.040: Chapter 1.10 administrative penalties, in addition to other criminal, civil, or legal remedies. We do not invent another exception.
Drinking water in Malibu is Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29 (Malibu & Marina del Rey), PWS CA1910204. Metropolitan Water District supplies the District through West Basin. Treatment is at Jensen and Weymouth, with ozone as the primary disinfectant and chloramines as secondary. The 2025 Annual Water Quality Report (calendar year 2025) prints hardness as two labeled plant columns — Weymouth 234 ppm as CaCO3 (range 189–280) and Jensen 140 ppm (range 137–142). We do not invent a citywide blend.
Distribution-system column, 2025 PRIMARY table: chlorine as Cl2 1.5 ppm (range 1.4–1.6). HAA5 5.3 ppb (range 3.8–5.7). TTHMs 19.0 ppb (range 10–31). Customer-tap lead 90th percentile 0 ppb and copper 90th 0.10 ppm, 2023 volunteer taps, 0 of 38 above the action levels. The 2025 tables we opened do not print a PFAS row or a hexavalent chromium row. This file does not invent either. Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
What actually fits
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If you want actual soft water
Portable-exchange tanks, if that exception applies at your address. The resin still removes hardness. The salt work happens off site. Do not install a self-regenerating unit to the sewer here.
If you only want less scale and you hate salt bags
A salt-free conditioner changes how scale sticks. It does not soften. Soap and spots stay closer to untreated. No brine line.
If the water tastes like pool-plus-ammonia
Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.
If you are shopping a PFAS listing for the kitchen
The under-sink RO we actually run is Cloud RO — NSF/ANSI 58, kitchen tap, not a whole-house tank. Check the exact listing if PFAS is why you are shopping. Waterdrop is a tankless option if you want that path. A certifier-listed pitcher is the cheap first step. Nobody is paying for a medical claim.
Shop Cloud ROShop Waterdrop reverse osmosisShop PFAS-listed pitchers
If you have not tested the tap
A homeowner kit is a start. It is not a state-certified lab. Use a certified lab when the decision is expensive.
Sources
- Chapter 9.40 Ban of On-Site Self-Regenerating Water Softeners (Ord. 451 § 2, 2019) — City of Malibu Municipal Code (eCode360). Accessed 2026-09-07.
- § 9.40.020 Self-regenerating water softeners prohibited, in connection with the Civic Center Water Treatment Facility — City of Malibu Municipal Code (eCode360). Accessed 2026-09-07.
- Ban on Self-Regenerating Water Softeners in Civic Center Area (flyer) — City of Malibu. Accessed 2026-09-07.
- 2025 Annual Water Quality Report (PWS ID CA1910204) — Los Angeles County Waterworks District 29. Accessed 2026-09-07.
Updated September 7, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.