Board President Donald L. Dear and General Manager Gregory Reed issued the following statements on Metropolitan Water District’s Board resolution to address equitable access to available water and storage across the region by building infrastructure, increasing local supplies, expanding partnerships, advancing water-use efficiency and planning for the escalating impacts of climate change.
Board President Donald L. Dear:
“West Basin applauds Metropolitan’s ongoing commitment to provide equitable water supply reliability to all 26 member agencies in Southern California. We look forward to further developing strategic partnerships with Metropolitan and our fellow member agencies to build critical infrastructure projects, enact forward-thinking policies, and implement innovative water resources programs that support the One Water regional planning approach. In doing so, every community that we collectively serve will have access to reliable water supplies for many generations to come.”
General Manager Gregory Reed:
“West Basin appreciates Metropolitan’s urgent call to action to address the existing constraints of its water supply system. While climate change and historically dry conditions throughout the West are affecting all of Southern California, those communities without access to Colorado River supplies are currently at a big disadvantage.
Last year, West Basin implemented operational changes to only take Colorado River water, in order to yield West Basin’s limited State Water Project supply to communities that need it most. We have also successfully obtained state and federal funding to expand local supplies and to support the replacement of more than half a million square feet of grass with water-efficient landscapes at homes, businesses, and public spaces.
While these efforts help boost regional reliability, we realize there is much work left to be done to transform Southern California’s water supply system into one that provides full and equitable reliability to all areas. We fully support Metropolitan’s objectives and are excited to play a role in bringing about this needed change.”
