On November 8, 2022, the Ramona Municipal Water District Board of Directors unanimously approved a resolution renaming Improvement District No. 5 (ID-5) tank to Robinson Tank to recognize retiring Director Jim Robinson’s 20-year service to the community. Director Robinson served on the water board from 1994 to 2010 and from 2018 to 2022.

He added his foresight and timely advice to numerous RMWD committees including those to improve the District’s engineering processes, the District’s responses to future with lessons learned from the Witch Creek Fire and planning and improvements for Santa Maria Recycled Water Plant. He was instrumental in the development of Ramona Parks and Recreation Association, Wellfield Community Park, and Ramona Junior Fairgrounds.

Board President Jim Hickle in November 2022 said of Director Robinson, “He’s always been an advocate for the youth and the community. That’s what I like most about him. We will miss his historical perspective. He’s been around for many years, so he understands why we did things in the past and he has a knowledge of the water systems. His knowledge and history with the district will be missed. I think all the board members will agree with that.”

Robinson Tank was originally constructed as part of the ID-5 project in 1981. It is located off of Old Julian Highway between downtown Ramona and the San Diego Country Estates. The tank is 484,000 gallons and 40-foot high and 46 feet in diameter. It was recently recoated and therefore was an excellent tank to choose to honor retiring Director Robinson.

The District was also looking to connect its infrastructure with the community and took inspiration from Fallbrook PUD’s Rattlesnake Tank, on which Fallbrook staff annually paint the year of the graduating high school class. After discussing with Ramona High School and RMWD’s board members and staff, the decision was made to paint an “R” on the tank for Ramona, Ramona High School, and Robinson.

(Editor’s note: The Ramona Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.)