Board Director Kelly E. Rowe Appointed SAWPA Commissioner

Orange County Water District (OCWD; the District) Director Kelly E. Rowe was appointed by the OCWD Board as a Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) commissioner. He joins four other commissioners and five alternate commissioners, including fellow OCWD Board Member Dina L. Nguyen.

His duties include being secretary-treasurer, and steering committee member for the One Water One Watershed program which is facilitated by SAWPA and brings together watershed community and agency members to plan for and implement projects towards a more sustainable future. It promotes collaboration across political and agency boundaries and integrates efforts that benefit the entire watershed.

Director Rowe represents Division 7 of the Orange County Water District, which includes the cities of Costa Mesa, and parts of Fountain Valley, Irvine, Newport Beach, and Tustin. He is a water resources technical professional with more than 40 years of experience specializing in the design, construction and management of groundwater wells and basin operational facilities. Director Rowe is a California-licensed Professional Geologist, Certified Engineering Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist and is an Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Certified Floodplain Manager.

SAWPA is the state-approved Regional Water Management group for the Santa Ana River Watershed. SAWPA serves as a forum roundtable for resolving inter-agency conflicts regarding regional water issues. It supports the development of long-term integrated water resource planning through multi-agency agreements and partnerships within the Santa Ana River Watershed.

The five SAWPA member agencies are the Orange County Water District, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, Western Municipal Water District, Eastern Municipal Water District, and Inland Empire Utilities Agency.