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:

• President Vicente Sarmiento and Executive Director of Planning & Natural Resources Greg Woodside met with Baja California’s director of the water department and members of his staff to talk about the GWRS.
• OCWD Directors Denis Bilodeau, Cathy Green, Kelly Rowe, Tri Ta and General Manager Mike Markus met with the Honorable Lisa Neville MP, Minister of Water for Victoria, Australia, and her staff to talk about water reuse, supply, security, and community engagement.
• Directors Cathy Green, Kelly Rowe, Steve Sheldon, and Executive Director of Engineering and Water Resources John Kennedy met with Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris along with representatives from other OC water/wastewater agencies to discuss critical issues facing the industry.
• OCWD Directors Jordan Brandman and Roger Yoh and Mike Markus met with Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee and staff to discuss critical issues facing Orange County water and wastewater industries.
• Directors Jordan Brandman, Cathy Green and Kelly Rowe; and Greg Woodside; Senior Watershed Planner Marsha Westropp; and Senior Communications Specialist Crystal Nettles attended an event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Conservation Corps.
• Mike Markus provided a presentation about the District and GWRS to State Water Resources Control Board Member Sean Maguire.
• Mike Markus also participated in a panel about indirect and direct reuse and Eleanor Torres participated in a Reuse Leaders Forum panel at the World Water-Tech North America Pre-Summit. Eleanor also helped facilitate a breakout session about communications.

• John Kennedy spoke about the District at the Southern California Building Industry Association conference in Temecula. He sat on a water panel with general managers Jeff Kightlinger of the Metropolitan Water District, Paul Jones of Eastern Municipal Water District, and Joone Lopez of Moulton Niguel Water District.
• Executive Director of Water Quality & Technical Resources Jason Dadakis, Director of Public Affairs Eleanor Torres and Legislative Affairs Liaison Alicia Dunkin met with staff from Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office to provide a PFAS briefing.
• Director of Water Quality Pat Versluis participated in the ACWA Regulatory Summit 2019 on PFAS. Pat moderated a panel about detection and treatment technology and presented on a panel about the local impacts of PFAS and OCWD’s efforts.
• Planning and Watershed Management staff hosted a meeting of interested Producers’ staff to coordinate efforts to engage residents in disadvantaged communities (DACs) in water resource issues.
• Greg Woodside participated as a speaker in a forum “Fostering Urban Stormwater Capture and Use” at the California Stormwater Quality Association conference in Monterey.
• OCWD hosted a Regional PFAS Forum attended by approximately 60 stakeholders.
• Chief Hydrogeologist Roy Herndon gave a guest lecture on the groundwater basin and seawater intrusion to an environmental engineering class at UC Irvine.