Association of California Water Agencies

980 9th Street, Suite 1000
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 441-4545
Contact Us

Washington, D.C. Office

400 North Capitol Street NW,
Suite 357
Washington, D.C. 20001

Our Partners

WVWD Announces Winners of Inaugural Scholarship Contest

RIALTO — The West Valley Water District (WVWD) Board of Directors was thrilled to recognize Julianna Valencia of Los Osos High School and Carlos De La Torre of Rialto High School as the recipients of its inaugural Scholarship Contest during the District’s June 6 board meeting. Applicants of the “Water Conservation Starts with You” themed scholarship were challenged with explaining the collaboration and accountability between community water systems and residents that is required to meet state-mandated conservation goals through a written or video essay. Both students were awarded scholarship funds to be directly applied on their behalf to the schools they plan to attend this fall. “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to congratulate Julianna and Carlos for their exceptional submissions,” said WVWD Board President Greg Young.  “The District is proud to engage with our next generation of water leaders and provide resources for them to achieve their academic goals.” The scholarship was open to high school seniors who live or go to school in West Valley Water District’s service area with a 2.5 gpa or higher and who planned to attend a two-year, four-year or vocational trade school within the next school year. “It brings me great joy to see the next generation of water stewards pursue higher education and understand the importance of water conservation” said WVWD Director Angela Garcia. “We wish them both luck in their future academic endeavors.” For more information regarding this year’s Scholarship Contest and future scholarship contests, please visit www.wvwd.org/scholarships.

# # #

The West Valley Water District has proudly served the Southern California communities of Bloomington, Colton, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, and Jurupa Valley since 1952. Through name changes and consolidation, the mission has always remained the same: to provide customers with safe, high quality, and reliable water service at a reasonable rate and in a sustainable manner. The District provides water for over 100,000 customers and is overseen by a five-member, publicly elected Board of Directors.

June 21, 2024 ACWA News Available

Read the June 21 edition of ACWA News for informative articles about the association and water industry. Articles include:

Virtual PPIC Panel Gauges Groundwater Recharge Success

With overdraft causing big problems in the San Joaquin Valley, and groundwater recharge among the most promising ways to protect against hotter, longer dry periods, is California socking away enough water during wet periods?

Answering that question was the subject of a June 11 virtual panel discussion hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) and now available for viewing online.

Titled “Replenishing Groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley,” the panel was moderated by PPIC Water Policy Center Senior Fellow Ellen Hanak and featured Stephanie Anagnoson, Director of Water and Natural Resources at Madera County; Jeevan Muhar, Engineer Manager with Arvin-Edison Water Storage District; Jon Reiter, Board of Directors member with Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa Water District; and Steven Springhorn, Supervising Engineering Geologist with the California Department of Water Resources.

The discussion followed up on PPIC surveys in 2017 and 2023 of dozens of urban and agriculture water managers who were asked how recharge efforts were going, how much progress they’ve made and what they thought was needed next.

The PPIC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that includes a Water Policy Center. Its mission is to inform and improve public policy in California through independent, objective, nonpartisan research.

New East Valley Water District Facility ‘Makes Every Source a Resource’

An aerial view of the SNRC on its 20-acre site.

An aerial view of the SNRC on its 20-acre site.

Now fully operational, East Valley Water District’s (EVWD) Sterling Natural Resource Center generates power, adds a park to its surrounding community, offers high school students a look at careers in water and hosts events ranging from quinceañeras to weddings, birthday parties and celebrations of life.

And it recycles wastewater. 

Recently recognized with ACWA’s 2024 Clair A. Hill Agency Award for Excellence, the Sterling Natural Resource Center functions on so many different levels that its primary purpose counts as just one on a lengthy list of benefits for its San Bernardino County community. But to hear EVWD leaders, that was the point.

“As we started this project, we worked to incorporate multiple community benefits, while making every source a resource in achieving water sustainability,” said EVWD General Manager/CEO Michael Moore. “This project not only creates greater water resiliency for the region, but the community has embraced the facility.”

Today, the Sterling Natural Resource Center, or SNRC, is recycling up to 8 million gallons of wastewater a day as the region’s first indirect potable reuse project. The water replenishes the local groundwater basin that is at historically low levels because of climate change.

How it Works

The SNRC integrates advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technologies, the region’s first application of these two technologies in combination, according to EVWD. MBR combines biological treatment with membrane filtration, with UV disinfection complementing the process. A compact design reduces the wastewater treatment component’s physical footprint by merging treatment steps and omitting large settling tanks. 

The deployment of MBR technology and the strategic combination of subterranean and above-ground equipment facilitates the SNRC’s integration into an urban neighborhood. 

Traditionally, a facility with SNRC’s capacity would need up to 16 acres solely for process equipment. However, the EVWD facility is efficiently contained within a 9-acre site that also includes an advanced noise and odor control system in a contained headworks facility, with its design redirecting noise upwards to further reduce community impact.

From Renewable Waste to Net-Zero Energy

The SNRC incorporates co-digestion of wastewater sludge with regionally sourced food waste, which achieves dual objectives of managing solid waste and enhancing renewable energy production. By diverting high-grade food waste from landfills, the SNRC aids in reducing carbon emissions and minimizing waste, aligning with environmental sustainability goals. The combination of these elements results in the recycling of nearly all influent material, virtually eliminating organic waste from the process, while achieving net-zero energy consumption by converting up to 130,000 gallons of organic waste streams into 3 megawatts of renewable energy.

Where it Started

Conversations that led to the SNRC began in the 2010s, according to William Ringland, EVWD’s Public Affairs and Conservation Manager. At that time, EVWD’s wastewater was treated at a non-district facility and released into the Santa Ana River, flowing out into the Pacific Ocean. District leadership sought a path to generational sustainability by treating that water and keeping it within EVWD’s service area. However, following a traditional approach on district land would have meant building a walled-off treatment facility in the middle of a residential neighborhood and a couple blocks from a high school.

With a total of 20 acres available, EVWD had plenty of room for creativity besides a treatment facility and administrative center. Driving that creativity depended on extensive community engagement, ranging from community barbecues to on-site meetings.

“At every juncture, our message was ‘We want to be your neighbors and part of the community,’,” Ringland said. “We did face pushback early on in the process, but we answered by consistently placing emphasis on gathering input and incorporating the feedback into the project design.”

Path to Completion

The SNRC broke ground in October 2018, with one last challenge ahead — the COVID-19 pandemic hitting during the middle of a major capital construction project. But with that overcome, EVWD completed the SNRC’s Administrative Center in July 2022, which includes a customer service center, banquet hall for special events and meetings, and a demonstration garden displaying water-efficient landscaping.

EVWD celebrated the treatment of the SNRC’s “first drop” in last January, and an early May ribbon-cutting marked the facility’s going fully operational.

The design-build facility was completed for a total cost of $219.5 million, with funding from a variety of sources, including Proposition 1, low interest loans, grants and through regional infrastructure partnerships.

“It’s really exciting to see the Sterling Natural Resource Center fulfilling its mission as a community resource on so many different levels,” Moore said. “As an engineer, I am excited  knowing all the hard work behind the SNRC’s innovative recycling operation is now creating generational water sustainability for our region. But on a personal level, sometimes it’s just knowing that we have people enjoying our banquet hall, park and walking trails every single day.”

Rowland Water District Honors Longstanding Board Member for 30 Years of Service

ROWLAND HEIGHTS– Rowland Water District (RWD) proudly celebrates Robert R. Lewis’ thirty years of service as a board representative. Director Lewis, who joined the Board of Directors in December 1993, is the longest-serving member. Throughout his time at RWD, Director Lewis has spearheaded numerous projects, including managing a $27.7 million annual budget, implementing critical infrastructure projects and driving forward-thinking strategies that ensure sustainable water resources for future generations. “Director Lewis’ extensive experience and thoughtful leadership have continued to advance our District’s services and strategic goals”, said Szu Pei Lu-Yang, Board President of Rowland Water District. “It has been a privilege to work alongside him.” Director Lewis represents the District regionally through his service on the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) Region 8 Committee and as Chair of the Puente Basin Water Agency. Additionally, he serves as an alternate representative for the San Gabriel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee and as a Special District Representative on the Local Agency Formation Commission. “Director Lewis’ tenure at Rowland Water District has been marked by significant achievements,” said Tom Coleman, General Manager of Rowland Water District. “His guidance has been instrumental in positioning our district as a leader in the water industry and we look forward to his continued guidance.” At the April 30 Special Meeting of the Board of Directors, Coleman presented a water drop trophy to Director Lewis, as a symbol of recognition and gratitude for his 30 years of service to the RWD Board. “It has been an honor to serve Rowland Water District and this community for the past 30 years,” said Director Lewis. “I am grateful for the opportunity and for what the future has to offer.” To learn more, visit rwd.org.

###

About Rowland Water District Rowland Water District was formed 70 years ago to provide water service to 200 ranchers and farmers in a rural, agricultural community. Over the years, the District has evolved to meet the changing needs of a dynamic and rapidly growing customer base. Rowland Water currently delivers 14 million gallons of safe drinking water to about 55,000 people every day. The District maintains 150 miles of potable water pipeline and 25 miles of recycled water pipeline to serve 13,800 customer connections across 17.2 square miles in southeast Los Angeles County, including portions of Rowland Heights, Hacienda Heights, La Puente, and the cities of Industry and West Covina.

WRD Awarded $25 Million WaterSMART Grant For Brackish Groundwater Cleanup Project

LAKEWOOD – The Water Replenishment District (WRD) has been awarded a $25 million WaterSMART grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation for the construction of a groundwater desalination project – the largest desalination grant awarded in this round. This project will significantly increase the locally sustainable drinking water supply for the South Bay by doubling the capacity of WRD’s Desalter located in the city of Torrance. The Torrance Groundwater Desalter Expansion project will be designed to extract and purify approximately 10 million gallons a day from a salty groundwater plume. The removal of this salty groundwater will create groundwater storage capacity for excess local freshwater and recycled water for the region to use in future drought years. The saline plume located under the South Bay is the result of the over-extraction of groundwater in the early 1900s. This caused seawater to intrude into the groundwater basin where it mixed with freshwater; making that groundwater too salty to be used. The expansion will create a new source of clean drinking water for the region. Joy Langford, President of the WRD Board, expressed her gratitude and optimism for the project, stating “This grant underscores WRD’s commitment to sustainable water management and will continue our efforts to ensure a reliable and resilient water future for southern Los Angeles County.” Rob Katherman, WRD Board Vice President concurred and stated, “We are excited to continue our collaboration with federal, state, and local partners to deliver innovative drought-proof solutions that meet the needs of our residents and safeguard our precious groundwater resources.” WRD is committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability and reliability of water supplies for southern Los Angeles County. By reducing the reliance on imported water and developing locally sustainable solutions, WRD is leading the way in innovative water management strategies. For further information on WRD’s Brackish Groundwater Reclamation Program, please visit www.wrd.org/brackish-groundwater-reclamation-program.

**************

 The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California’s population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Joy Langford., Rob Katherman, John D. S. Allen, Sergio Calderon, and Vera Robles-DeWitt

2023 Annual Water Quality Report Confirms High Quality of Zone 7 Water

LIVERMORE – Zone 7 Water Agency released its 2023 Annual Water Quality Report confirming all water supplied by the agency in 2023 met the regulatory standards set by the state and federal governments. Furthermore, in almost all cases, the water quality was significantly better than required. “We encourage the businesses and residents of Tri-Valley to review our latest Water Quality Report and see how we ensure the high quality of our drinking water, providing safe, clean, and sustainable water to our community,” said Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor. “We have invested in state-of-the-art monitoring and treatment systems – and we have been proactive in investing in upgraded facilities, leveraging millions in grant funding to maintain our high standards.” Residents of the Tri-Valley can now read the report online detailing the sources, treatment, safety, and testing of their local water along with illustrated graph results and infographics. The Consumer Confidence Report is available for download through the Zone 7 website, https://www.zone7water.com/post/annual-water-quality-reports. Highlights of the 2023 Water Quality Report include: Zone 7 delivers treated drinking water to four major water retailers, along with a small number of direct customers, serving over a quarter million people in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, and the Dougherty Valley area of San Ramon. Zone 7 also provides untreated water to local agricultural users and owns and maintains 37 miles of local flood-protection channels, about a third of all the Valley’s channels and creeks. Additional questions on water quality may be directed to the Zone 7 water quality team at waterquality@zone7water.com.

###

About Zone 7 Water Zone 7 Water Agency is one of the 10 active zones of the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. The District was established by the State Legislature in October 1949 to solve problems of flooding, drainage, channel erosion and water supply and conservation in Alameda County. In 1957, by popular vote, Zone 7 became a special district governed by a seven-member board of directors. Along with flood protection, Zone 7 supplies water to all of eastern Alameda County and a population of over a quarter million residents. Treated water is sold wholesale to local retailers, including the cities of Livermore and Pleasanton, the Dublin San Ramon Services District, and the California Water Service Company. Zone 7 also distributes untreated water to local agriculture operations and golf courses.  

Emmy Awards Presented to Rancho Water and Post and Jam for PSA

TEMECULA — The Rancho California Water District (Rancho Water/District) and Post and Jam LLC (Post and Jam) media productions company were the recipients of Emmy Awards at the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) ceremony on Saturday, June 15, 2024. The Pacific Southwest (PSW) chapter presented both agencies with awards for the category of Public Service Announcement for the “Be a Water Hero” communications campaign.

The “Be a Water Hero” campaign includes commercials in English and Spanish which have aired locally in theatres and via digital streaming, and promote the idea of being water efficient every day even when the region is drought-free. Commercials were written and produced by Rancho Water’s Public Affairs Manager Kimberly Wall and directed and edited by Post and Jam’s owner and director Warren Burley.

“I am so honored to be the recipient of this prestigious Emmy Award on behalf of Rancho Water, and am thankful for our wonderful partnership with Warren and his team at Post and Jam,” said Kimberly Wall, Rancho Water Public Affairs Manager. “The District is committed to promoting water efficiency and providing excellence in communications for our community, so being presented with this award is truly humbling.”

Post and Jam’s Director Warren Burley stated, “Post and Jam is thrilled to celebrate almost a decade of successful collaboration with Rancho Water. Our partnership has been a source of immense pride and excitement, consistently yielding creative and innovative outcomes. Each project undertaken with Rancho Water has been a testament to the synergy and dedication we share. Winning an Emmy together with Rancho Water was a well-deserved honor that underscores the excellence and creativity of our joint efforts. We look forward to many more years of groundbreaking projects and mutual growth.”

With almost 700 members, NATAS PSW serves television professionals in San Diego, Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria, and has awarded Emmys since 1974. The winning commercial for “Be a Water Hero” can be found on Rancho Water’s website at RanchoWater.com/waterhero.

PWD’s Annual Drinking Water Quality Report Now Available

Palmdale – Palmdale Water District (PWD) has published its annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to inform the public about the quality of its drinking water for the year 2023. Required by the California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water, the CCR is a comprehensive report detailing where PWD’s water comes from, what it contains and how it compares to drinking water standards as set by the state.  The report, due July 1 of each year, shows that PWD’s water met all federal and state guidelines. In 2023, PWD completed more than 15,000 tests for over 80 regulated contaminants. “Each day, we perform numerous tests to make sure that the quality of the water being distributed to customers meets or is above the standards set by federal and state officials,” said PWD Water Quality and Regulatory Affairs Supervisor Amanda Thompson.  “The guidelines are very strict, so the water from your tap is more regulated than bottled water.  As always, I encourage customers to learn about the quality of their water by reviewing the annual CCRs that are published for their benefit.” The CCR includes an easy-to-read Water Quality Data Chart that is divided into two standards – Primary and Secondary.  Primary standards identify contaminants in water that may be immediately harmful to humans or affect their health if consumed for long periods of time.  Secondary standards highlight water qualities that have to do with aesthetics, such as taste, mineral content, odor, color and turbidity. In addition to the water quality data, the comprehensive report has information about PWD’s three water sources – State Water Project, Littlerock Dam and groundwater wells – and the amount supplied by each in 2023. The new CCR can be viewed at https://www.palmdalewater.org/2023_ccr/.  For hard copies in English and Spanish, please contact the Customer Care Department at 661-947-4111. Since 1918, the Palmdale Water District has provided high-quality water at a reasonable cost.  We pride ourselves on providing great customer care; advocating for local water issues that help our residents; educating the community on water-use efficiency; and leading our region in researching and implementing emerging technologies that increase operational efficiency.  For more information about PWD, visit www.palmdalewater.org.

###

Helix Water District Releases 2023 Water Quality Report

Helix Water District’s newly released 2023 Water Quality Report shows that throughout 2023, the district continued to deliver top-quality drinking water that meets all federal and state drinking water regulations.

What’s in water depends on where it comes from. As water travels through rock, soils and rivers, it takes with it the characteristics of those environments. In 2023, 54% of Helix water came from Lake Cuyamaca and local creeks, after winter storms dropped 58 inches of rain and snow on the mountains east of San Diego.

The Colorado River provided 26% of our water supply and the remaining 20% came from rivers in Northern California through the State Water Project. Helix manages the characteristics of each water source through its multistep treatment process.

“Our system operators carefully blend the water from each of our sources to improve water quality, and our on-site chemist and biologist work hand in glove with our water treatment plant operators,” said Helix Water District General Manager Brian Olney. “It takes a highly trained and very committed team to maintain our level of water quality year after year.”

The 2023 Water Quality Report explains the water quality standards mandated through U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency and state of California regulations and presents Helix Water District’s water quality data for each standard. As in years past, the district’s tap water met all standards.

To view the report in English
Go to hwd.fyi/wqr2023-english

To view the report in Spanish
Go to hwd.fyi/wqr2023-espanol

To request a printed report
Please email to helix@helixwater.org or call 619-466-0585

For questions about water quality
Go to hwd.fyi/water-quality-faqs, email wqr@helixwater.org or call 619-667-6248

Helix Water District is a local government agency responsible for tap water in San Diego’s east county suburbs. The district’s regional water treatment plant serves 500,000 residents and the district distributes water to 277,000 residents in La Mesa, El Cajon, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and other unincorporated areas.