I
took the 405 freeway South from my home in Culver City, then the 105 freeway
East, the 110 freeway South, the 91 freeway East, exited the freeway somewhere,
and found my way to 17140 South Avalon Boulevard in Carson, California. I had driven 19 miles in 30 minutes
(depending on Los Angeles area traffic) until I found the West Basin Municipal
Water District building (also known as the Donald L. Dear Headquarters
Building). Free parking helped. The reception guard directed me to the elevator
on my way to the Board’s monthly meeting.
What
is the West Basin Municipal Water District?
Some of the major tasks of the Water District includes supplying water
from various rivers to its district; utilizing the Edward Little Water
Treatment Facility in El Segundo; recycling water; conserving water, and
experimenting with removing salt from the ocean water to determine how to use
desalinization technology.
This
Water District is one of the best kept secrets in California. But not for long.
When
I attended my first West Basin Water Board meeting on August 27, 2012 (the
fourth Monday of each month), I saw the five elected members of the Board of
Directors – one of whom I knew -, each representing a different part of the
Water District:
1. Ron Smith, the owner of a
realty company, has been on the Board since 2006, and represents Carson, Palos
Verdes Estate, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills, and
portions of San Pedro.
2. Gloria Gray, who served 2
terms on the Inglewood School District, worked for Los Angeles County, was first
elected to the Water Board in 2006, and represents Inglewood, South Ladera
Heights, a portion of Lennox and Athens, Howard and Ross.
3. Carol W. Kwan, has been a
Board member since 1996, and represents Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach,
Redondo Beach, and Torrance.
4. Ed Little, former City
Councilmember of Culver City from 1966-1970, and owner of a car repair shop, is
the longest serving member of the Water Board having served since 1989, and
represents Culver City, El Segundo, Malibu, West Hollywood, Lennox, North
Ladera Heights, Del Aire, Topanga, View Park, and Windsor Hills.
5. Donald Dear, the current
Water Board president, taught middle school, and was the Gardena mayor for 9
terms, has been on the Water Board since 2000, and represents Gardena,
Hawthorne, Lawndale, and portions of El Camino Village.
Of
course, I have known Ed Little for many years due to his term as a former City
Councilmember in Culver City and his local community activities.
Three
of the 5 Water Board members formerly served as locally elected
representatives. Without term limits for
this Board, the current members have served 23, 16, 12, 6, and 6 years. With Carol Kwan a candidate for her fifth
term, she has been endorsed by all 4 colleagues on the Board which can
perpetuate the cliquish (inside) nature of some elected bodies. Kwan has one opponent for the November 4,
2012 election. The other office for
Water Board on the November election is seat number 5 where the incumbent, Donald
Dear, is unopposed.
When
I arrived at the Water Board’s meeting room, the members were still eating or
talking in one of the 2 adjoining rooms.
I was welcomed into that room and spoke with Ed Little and some of his
colleagues. After a while, the Board
meeting commenced. I had earlier that
day mentioned to Water Board president Donald Dear that I might have a remark
for the public comment portion of the meeting, and sure enough he asked me if I
wanted to speak. There was no speaker
card to complete so I approached the podium to make suggestions for a more
inclusive and transparent Board. I
suggested creating a more comprehensive e-mail list for the Board by
encouraging sign-ups on line and at Board meetings, having links to the Water
Board on all the city websites that are served by this Board, preparing a
calendar of events on the Water Board’s website, and placing agendas at various
locations in the cities affected.
President Dear commented that the suggestions sounded good. We will see if they are implemented.
The
meeting agenda was available at the Board room, but it only contained the 1
line titles – not the staff reports - of the 31 agenda items. I sat in one of the approximate 30 seats provided
in the Board room and listened to the presentations by staff and consultants
with Board members occasionally making comments or asking questions. Although almost all of the chairs in the
meeting room were taken, I realized I was the only member of the public in the
room.
After a period of time, I went into an adjoining room for a glass of water – they also provided snacks – and when I returned to the Board meeting room, I found that they were at the conclusion of their meeting because a motion had been passed to approve many of the action items without any reports given or discussion had.
I spoke with Charlene Jensen, the Board’s secretary, who took my name and contact information and placed me on the Board’s e-mail list. You can contact Charlene at (310) 660-6229 or charlene@westbasin.org.
The
West Basin Municipal Water District has several committees including
Administration, Communications, Ethics, Finance, and Water Resources, most of
which meet monthly. Each committee
consists of 3 Water Board members, one of whom is the chair, another a regular
member, and the third an alternate.
Water
is one of our most important resources.
We must be vigilant about those who have control of its use. The Water Board should
take a position to stop the enormous waste of water
along with the chemicals poisoning our water systems used in hydraulic oil
fracturing (fracking) within its jurisdiction.
Work with the communities of the Water Board to
coordinate recycling and other forms of water conservation
Include all the minutes of meetings on the
District’s website
Have past Board agendas for the years prior to 2012
on the District’s website
By
the way, Ed Little has offered to arrange a personal tour of the Water
District’s treatment plant in El Segundo, which he says is the only one like it
in the world. If you’d like to go,
please send an e-mail to me.
This
is the first of a series of articles about the West Basin Municipal Water
District.
Gary
Silbiger is co-editor of Culver City Progress blog and a former Mayor of Culver City.
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