BCVWD Recognized with GFOA Award for Financial Reporting Excellence
BEAUMONT – The Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District (BCVWD) has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
This marks the eighth consecutive year the District has received this prestigious national recognition, the highest form of achievement in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
The award follows the District’s annual independent financial audit, which resulted in an unmodified (clean) opinion with no findings, reflecting BCVWD’s continued commitment to transparency, accuracy, and accountability in its financial practices.
The GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement program to encourage state and local governments to go beyond minimum accounting requirements and produce financial reports that clearly communicate their financial position and demonstrate full disclosure. Reports are reviewed by financial professionals with expertise in public sector reporting.
“Receiving this award for the eighth consecutive year reflects the District’s strong commitment to financial transparency and responsible stewardship of public funds,” said BCVWD Board President Lona Williams. “Our community deserves clear, accurate, and accessible financial information, and this recognition affirms the dedication of our staff to maintaining those high standards.”
“As stewards of public resources, it is essential that we maintain the highest standards in financial reporting,” said BCVWD Finance and Audit Chairman David Hoffman. “This award demonstrates the District’s continued focus on accuracy, transparency, and long-term financial stability.”
The Certificate of Achievement recognizes agencies whose financial reports meet rigorous standards for clarity, completeness, and transparency. Attainment of this award represents a significant accomplishment by BCVWD and its management team.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) serves more than 21,000 members and promotes best practices in governmental financial management. Learn more at GFOA.org.
For more information regarding this, or other District awards, visit bcvwd.gov.
ACWA-Sponsored Wildfire Bill Moves Forward
ACWA-sponsored SB 1153 (Caballero) unanimously passed out of the Senate Emergency Management Committee March 24.
The bill would clarify the limited role of public water systems during wildfires while strengthening emergency preparedness in high-risk areas.
Testimony in support of SB 1153 was provided by Dana Moore, Executive Director of the California Utilities Emergency Association, and Dave Pedersen, General Manager of Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. ACWA staff and nearly 20 ACWA members and partners also voiced support of the bill to the committee. No opposition testimony was presented.
The bill will now head to the Senate Natural Resources Committee. For more information about the bill and to join the coalition in support, access ACWA’s March 25 Advisory online. Member login required.
WVWD Awarded “Triple Crown” for Excellence in Financial Reporting
RIALTO – West Valley Water District (WVWD) is proud to announce for the fourth year in a row it has earned the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Triple Crown award for fiscal year 2024. WVWD is recognized for its comprehensive consistency and excellence in financial reporting and budget presentations.
GFOA’s Triple Crown recognizes government agencies that have previously received their three prestigious accolades: Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial
Reporting, Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award, and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
“We are honored to be presented with this prestigious award and recognized for our efforts to provide updated and accurate reports,” said WVWD Board President Kelvin
Moore. “Ensuring we maintain financial transparency with our customers builds trust and confidence, while establishing accountability throughout the district.”
WVWD upholds financial transparency as a key component of its organizational values, guaranteeing that critical information remains available and easy to understand for our
customers. WVWD has earned the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 14 consecutive years. Since 2021, the District has also received both the Popular Annual Financial Reporting Award and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
“The finance team thrives for excellence in financial transparency, and this award emphasizes the hard work and dedication that details each report that reaches the public,”
said WVWD’s Chief Financial Officer Jose Velasquez. “Ensuring we have the most up to date and comprehensive information not only for our operations but for customers is of
the utmost importance at West Valley Water District is providing high quality and reliable water services.”
For more information about WVWD and its commitment to financial transparency, as well as to read the award-winning reports, please visit www.wvwd.org/transparency.
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Since 1952, West Valley Water District has been dedicated to serving the Southern California communities of Bloomington, Colton, Fontana, Rialto, Jurupa Valley and Unincorporated San Bernardino County. Providing water to over 100,000 customers, West Valley is committed to delivering a cost-effective, high-quality water supply. Governed by a five-member, publicly elected board of directors, our mission encompasses strategic water resource planning, effective management, and the development of regional partnerships to ensure sustainable water solutions.
LAO Acknowledges Potential Benefits of Healthy Rivers and Landscapes Program
SACRAMENTO — The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on March 18 issued a report on the Bay-Delta Plan and Voluntary Agreements, also known as the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes (HRL) Program, that acknowledges the HRL Program’s potential to benefit the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.
ACWA is a long-standing supporter of the HRL Program as the best approach to protecting, restoring and enhancing the Bay-Delta watershed. The LAO report takes a balanced approach in evaluating the HRL Program alongside the State Water Resource Control Board’s pathway that would primarily rely on enforcing unimpaired flows.
In analyzing the benefits of the HRL Program, the report acknowledges that it has potential to balance multiple competing goals in restoring the Bay-Delta’s health and native fishery, while also pointing out that many of the HRL Program’s habitat restoration projects are already underway.
As the State Water Board approaches a final decision on the Bay-Delta Plan Update, expected by the end of this year, ACWA will continue engaging with its Bay-Delta Working Group. ACWA’s advocacy will remain focused on supporting the HRL Program’s inclusion in the updated plan and ensuring its successful implementation.
Member login is required to access a March 24 ACWA Advisory with more information and background.
Westlands Responds to Updated CVP Allocation
FRESNO – Today, the Bureau of Reclamation announced an updated allocation increasing from 15 to 20 percent for Westlands Water District (District) and other south-of-Delta Central Valley Project irrigation water service contractors.
In response, Allison Febbo, General Manager of Westlands Water District, issued the following statement:
“While we appreciate the modest increase in allocation and acknowledge the constraints of California’s current hydrology—particularly as snowpack declines rapidly—this additional 5 percent is simply inadequate. Continued low allocations lead to increased reliance on groundwater pumping, a direct result of our broken water system that has suffered from decades of underinvestment and unreliable water supplies.
This approach is not sustainable and continued low allocations only underscore the urgent need to modernize how California manages, stores and allocates water. We must do a better job of aligning water operations with real-time conditions to reduce unnecessary groundwater use and to maximize available surface water supplies.”
Westlands is working actively with the Bureau of Reclamation, federal leadership, and policymakers to develop new methods and tools that will secure increased allocations and improve operational flexibility in the future.
MCWD Begins Rehabilitation of Reservation Road Desalination Plant
Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) has begun rehabilitation of its existing desalination (desal) system on Reservation Road, with active construction now underway on the beach at Marina State Beach. The project restores infrastructure originally constructed in 1996 and last operated in 2003, and will add 300 acre-feet of locally produced water per year to the District’s supply portfolio.
This is a rehabilitation of existing facilities, not a new construction project. The intake well on the beach has been buried there since 1996 and will be reburied once it is rehabilitated.
What the Community Will See.
Visitors to Marina State Beach will see steel construction plates temporarily placed on the beach, along with construction equipment. These plates protect the beach sand and prevent equipment from becoming stuck. The steel plates are planned to be removed by Mid-April. A protected pedestrian walkway is in place for the duration of beach-side work, and the parking lot remains fully accessible.
Work on the bluffs — rehabilitating the brine discharge well on District property approximately 40 feet above the beach — will begin in late April. The original pipeline to the beach intake well will be replaced, requiring trenching on the beach, but the parking lot pipeline will be drilled horizontally, allowing the parking lot to remain open.
Construction Timeline
· Beach construction and steel plates with start of daily Snowy Plover monitoring — Early March to Mid-May 2026
· Beach plates removed and new vault and wellhead installed, Intake well rehabilitation complete; beach restored. Complete snowy Plover monitoring — by Mid-May 2026
· Bluff and parking lot work — March 2026 through May 2026
· Full system online, delivering 300 AF/year — First Quarter 2027
Part of a Long-Range Water Supply Plan
MCWD has a reliable, diversified water supply today and a long-range plan to responsibly add new sources over time as the community grows. Good engineering practice avoids overbuilding: the District brings capacity online in planned steps, as needed. This desal rehabilitation is one of those steps.
The project has been identified in MCWD’s Urban Water Management Plan and has been part of the District’s Regional Urban Water Augmentation Project (RUWAP) since 2008, approved under CEQA. Rehabilitating existing infrastructure is significantly faster, less expensive, and less disruptive than building new facilities, and technological improvements since 1996 mean the District expects better performance from the refitted system.
This desal project diversifies the water supply portfolio, supports groundwater basin sustainability by reducing dependence on local groundwater, and provides MCWD with supply flexibility to meet water needs across its service area.
Environmental Protections in Place
MCWD has secured all required permits prior to construction. A Notice of Exemption under CEQA was filed on September 25, 2025. The District holds a Right of Entry permit from California State Parks requiring full restoration of all affected areas upon completion, and the existing Coastal Development Permit is current and complied with.
A professional wildlife biologist is on-site conducting daily monitoring for the Western Snowy Plover, a threatened shorebird that nests in this area. MCWD is working with Point Blue Conservation Science, which has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over two decades to monitor and protect the Snowy Plovers along the Monterey Bay and is considered the leading expert in the region. State Parks has reviewed and approved the monitoring program.
Infrastructure routing has also been specifically adjusted to avoid any potential habitat for the Monterey Spineflower, an endangered plant species.
The project has also been designed to account for sea-level rise and ongoing wave erosion as part of MCWD’s managed retreat strategy for facilities located west of Highway 1.
District General Manager, Remleh Scherzinger noted that “this desal project reflects our commitment to building a sustainable, reliable water supply for our community — one carefully planned step at a time. We take our responsibility to protect the beach environment just as seriously, and we are proud to be doing this work in a way that safeguards the natural resources our community values.”
The District will provide regular updates as the project progresses. Full project information, the construction timeline, environmental documentation, and FAQs are available on the MCWD website.
DWR Approves Assignment of State Water Project Contract
BUELLTON – The Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA) is pleased to announce that the State of California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has approved the assignment of the State Water Project (SWP) contract (SWP Contract) from Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) to CCWA. Since 1991, CCWA has been financially responsible for the SWP Contract, as well as the conveyance, treatment and delivery of SWP water to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. CCWA has pursued the full and complete assignment of the SWP Contract for more than a decade.
This transition aligns fiscal responsibility for the SWP Contract with the contractual authority to manage this important supplemental water supply for the region in a manner that maximizes beneficial use of the resource and optimizes water supply reliability. By having CCWA hold the SWP Contract directly, the region benefits from streamlined governance, clearer accountability and a single point of contact for SWP matters in Santa Barbara County. It also modernizes CCWA’s administrative and management of the supply for the benefit of the region’s retail water providers and their customers, the ratepayers.
“The assignment brings contract responsibility and day-to-day operations under a single, locally focused organization,” said CCWA’s Executive Director Ray Stokes. “By consolidating fiscal responsibility and management within CCWA, we can enhance transparency, improve coordination with our member agencies and continue providing reliable, cost-effective water supplies to the people and businesses of Santa Barbara County.”
For residents and businesses, water service will continue without interruption. Local water retailers will continue serving customers, and CCWA will continue its direct coordination with DWR with respect to all SWP matters. This does not change the delivery of SWP water to Santa Barbara County, nor does it alter the roles of local cities and water districts that partner with CCWA.
“Our mission is to deliver affordable, safe and reliable water in a financially responsible manner,” said CCWA Board Chair Eric Friedman. “This assignment strengthens local control and positions our region to meet future water challenges with clarity and accountability.”
CCWA remains committed to fiscal responsibility and public transparency and will continue long-term planning for drought resilience, water quality protection and infrastructure maintenance, while engaging openly with the public and partner agencies.
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The Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA), formed in 1991, is charged with operating the local treatment and conveyance facilities associated with the State Water Project and contracts with the State of California’s Department of Water Resources to deliver State water to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The facilities consist of the Polonio Pass Water Treatment Plant in San Luis Obispo County and a pipeline from the treatment plant to Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County.
ACWA Board Adopts Vision Recommendations; Rollout Coming Soon
SACRAMENTO – Today, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Board of Directors has unanimously adopted a new Vision policy document, establishing a unified set of water priorities to guide engagement with California’s next Administration. The action marks a key milestone in ACWA’s Vision for Our Water Future initiative, launched earlier this year.
The document reflects extensive input from ACWA members statewide, gathered through region meetings, events, and leadership discussions. A General Manager Working Group representing ACWA’s 10 regions helped translate that input into a concise set of strategic priorities and recommended actions.
With a new Governor set to take office in January 2027, the Vision initiative positions ACWA to engage early with gubernatorial candidates, elevate water as a top statewide priority, and advance a unified policy agenda.
The Vision policy document is designed to clearly communicate ACWA’s priorities while serving as a foundation for future policy development with the next Administration.
ACWA will continue elevating these priorities throughout 2026 with candidates, legislative leadership, and key stakeholders. In the coming weeks, ACWA will share the Vision policy document and a toolkit to help members support and amplify it. A members-only webinar will be held on April 21 to walk through the document and highlight engagement opportunities. Members can register for the webinar at acwa.com.
Learn more about the Vision for Our Water Future initiative at acwa.com/vision.
Questions
For questions regarding Vision for Our Water Future, please visit acwa.com/vision or contact ACWA Regulatory Relations Director Chelsea Haines at (916) 669-2431.
ACWA’s ‘2025 Year in Review’ Now Available
ACWA’s “2025 Year in Review” publication is now available to read and download online. Member agencies also received a printed copy earlier this month.
The annual publication highlights ACWA’s advocacy efforts, key accomplishments, member services, awards, events and other milestones from the past year. It offers members a helpful snapshot of how ACWA is working on their behalf and the progress made on issues important to California’s water community.
Explore the year’s major successes and challenges by downloading the full “2025 Year in Review” from the ACWA website at acwa.com/resources.
March 2026 ACWA News Available
Read the March edition of ACWA News for informative articles about the association and water industry.
Articles include:
- ACWA Marks Progress on Vision for Our Water Future Initiative
- Survey Results Demonstrate ACWA’s Value to Member Agencies
- Legislative Symposium and D.C. Conference Focus on Latest Water Policy Action
- ACWA State Advocacy Supports Key Water Bills of Interest to Members