Out in the Community
As part of its standard to forge and maintain long-term, positive and proactive relationships with members of the local community and greater water industry and to be transparent about its operations and programs, OCWD board members and staff speak regularly before groups and at events. We recently participated in the following:
- At its May 1 city council meeting, the city of Santa Ana recognized the month of May as Water Awareness Month and May 2nd through May 8th as Drinking Water Week and bestowed a proclamation to the Orange County Water District for its conservation and responsible use of the valuable resource that is water. The presentation was made to OCWD President Denis Bilodeau (left), with Director Vicente Sarmiento, who is also a city of Santa Ana councilmember, in attendance.
- OCWD General Manager Mike Markus spoke about the GWRS during a congressional briefing highlighting how four different communities across the country are using recycled water.
- Mike Markus met with Assemblyman Phillip Chen and staff from Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office to provide a briefing about the Orange County North Basin site and the EPA’s proposal to add it to the National Priorities List.
- Mike Markus, OCWD CFO/Treasurer Randy Fick, OCWD Director of Public Affairs Eleanor Torres, OCWD Senior Engineer Lo Tan, and OCSD General Manager Jim Herberg and OCSD Assistant General Manager Rob Thompson met with three representatives of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to discuss Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program funding.
- Mike Markus also served as a panel speaker for a congressional briefing about Harnessing the Transformational and Economic Value of Water Reuse. The briefing was organized by WaterReuse as part of Water Week 2018 in Washington, D.C.
- Director of Special Projects Bill Hunt met with Assemblyman Matthew Harper to provide a briefing about the Orange County North Basin site and the EPA’s proposal to add it to the National Priorities List.
- Director of Water Production Mehul Patel gave a presentation about the GWRS at the California Water Environment Association conference in Sacramento. He also participated on an innovation panel.
- Chief Hydrogeologist Roy Herndon and Recharge Planning Manager Adam Hutchinson met with three executive staff of the state Department of Water Resources and briefed them on OCWD’s groundwater management framework and programs and how they integrate with requirements of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).