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Kimberly Thorner-San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors-Olivenhain MWD

Welcome to the Board: Kimberly Thorner, Olivenhain Municipal Water District

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Editor’s Note: This feature highlights new members of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 36-member Board of Directors. Each of the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies appoints at least one representative to the Board, which sets policy for the Water Authority.

Welcome to the Board: Kimberly Thorner, Olivenhain Municipal Water District

Who: Kimberly Thorner was seated on the Board of Directors on January 6, 2021, representing the Olivenhain Municipal Water District. Director Thorner serves on the Administrative and Finance, Audit and Engineering and Operations committees for the Water Authority. She was formerly a member of the Fiscal Sustainability Task Force.

Background/Education: Thorner earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado (Boulder) and a juris doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego. She began her tenure with OMWD in October 1996 and was unanimously selected by the Board of Directors to become OMWD’s fourth general manager beginning January 1, 2007.

Water Industry Affiliations:
Chair of the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission Special Districts Advisory Committee; San Diego LAFCO Advisory Committee on Rainbow-Fallbrook Reorganization; San Diego LAFCO Subcommittee on the Update to Agricultural and Open Space Lands Policy, and the San Diego LAFCO Subcommittee on GSA’s.

San Diego Integrated Regional Water Management Regional Advisory Committee

WateReuse California (WRCA) Board of Trustees (currently Secretary of the WRCA Board)

Association of California Water Agencies Federal Affairs Committee

North San Diego Water Reuse Coalition

David C. McCollom Water Treatment Plant, Prior Project Manager

Q & A

Q: How did you get interested in water issues?

A: Water is my life. I am quickly approaching my 25th year in the water industry. I started locally, working on treatment plant projects, dams, outreach and conservation. As my tenure in the industry expanded, so did my participation at an expanded level – being involved in statewide and federal water issues, committees and boards. I’ve never had a boring day in the water industry!

Q: What are your priorities or interests as a Board member?

A: My first priorities are the basics – safe, reliable, and affordable water for the San Diego region. None of the member agencies can be successful in providing safe, reliable, and affordable water if SDCWA is not successful. I am looking forward to participating in the continued success of SDCWA. My second priorities are the essentials – transparency, openness and collaboration. Working together openly and honestly in order to move forward for the advantage of the region is important.

Q: Besides maintaining safe and reliable water supplies, what do you see as the top three issues facing the San Diego region?

A: After Safe and Reliable supplies, I would say: Affordability. Dwindling Demand. Maintaining Current Infrastructure.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not working?

A: I’m always working, unless I am off the grid summiting a mountain or spending time with my two daughters. I guide friends up Mt. Whitney and Rim2Rim of the Grand Canyon every year. Someone has to check the snowpack up there in the Sierra and the flow of the Colorado River in the canyon!

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Board invites the public to attend its monthly meetings and to comment on agenda items or other matters before the Board. For meeting times, agendas and documents, go to​ www.sdcwa.org/board-directors.

Successful Sustainable Landscaping is a Click Away for Fallbrook, Rainbow Customers

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village News Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

No matter whether their landscaping is just a few square feet alongside a front porch or estate acreage, thousands of San Diego County residents have learned to embrace sustainability as a central principle for creating and renovating their landscapes. The San Diego County Water Authority offers financial incentives and educational resources to customers in Fallbrook and Rainbow to improve their landscaping.

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Craig Elitharp-San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors-

Welcome to the Board: Craig Elitharp, Vallecitos Water District

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Editor’s Note: This feature highlights new members of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 36-member Board of Directors. Each of the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies appoints at least one representative to the Board, which sets policy for the Water Authority.

Welcome to the Board: Craig Elitharp, Vallecitos Water District

Who: Craig Elitharp was seated on the Board of Directors on December 1, 2020, representing the Vallecitos Water District. Director Elitharp serves on the Legislation and Public Outreach and Water Planning and Environmental committees; the Colorado River Work Group; and is an alternate on the SANDAG Regional Planning Committee for the Water Authority.

Background/Education: Bachelor of Science, Forest Engineering, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University (1979). Retired in 2014 from the Rancho California Water District in Temecula. Elitharp and his wife Diana have been residents of San Marcos since 1988.

Water Industry Affiliations:
Vallecitos Water District Board Director, Division 3
California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA) Board Director
Encina Wastewater Authority Board Director (2015-2018)
US Navy Public Works Center Utilities Department, San Diego (1986-1990), Civil Engineer
Rancho California Water District (1990-2014), Civil Engineer, Operations Manager, and Director of Operations & Maintenance (Retired 2014)
Kennedy/Jenks Consultants (2014-2018), Senior Civil Engineer

Q & A

Q: How did you get interested in water issues?

A: I first became exposed to the world of California water in 1986 when I took a job with the US Navy Public Works Center in San Diego. As a civil engineer there, I managed water and wastewater utilities for six Navy bases in the San Diego area. From there I went to work for the Rancho California Water District in 1990, working first as a civil engineer, then Operations Manager and eventually retiring there in 2014 as the Director of Operations and Maintenance. It’s been a fascinating and extremely rewarding career. As an elected official since 2014, I’ve sought to use my water industry experience for the benefit of the Vallecitos Water District ratepayers and now as a Water Authority board member, for all of the residents of San Diego County as well.

Q: What are your priorities or interests as a Board member?

A: I’m a strong advocate for fiscal sustainability and transparency, ratepayer equity and environmental stewardship. In addition, I believe in hiring and retaining highly qualified staff and empowering and challenging them to reach their full potential.

Q: Besides maintaining safe and reliable water supplies, what do you see as the top three issues facing the San Diego region?

A: I see climate change resiliency, infrastructure investment, and housing and utilities affordability as particularly important issues facing the San Diego region.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not working?

A: I enjoy spending time with my grandsons Nathaniel and Kieran and my granddaughter Kaia. I enjoy running on the trails and in the neighborhoods around Cal State San Marcos as well as running an occasional local half-marathon race. I also enjoy sampling the outstanding craft beers of North County.

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Board invites the public to attend its monthly meetings and to comment on agenda items or other matters before the Board. For meeting times, agendas and documents, go to​ www.sdcwa.org/board-directors.

Opinion: Helping Water Ratepayers Stay Afloat During COVID

/in , , /by /La Prensa (San Diego)by Mona Rios Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The pandemic has brought into even more compelling focus an important societal issue in San Diego County and California: How to ensure that everyone has access to safe and reliable water supplies. State estimates show there are approximately $1 billion in uncollected water bills statewide since the start of the pandemic that are directly attributable to household economic impacts associated with the pandemic.

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Eric Heidemann-Welcome-Board-City of Poway

Welcome to the Board: Eric Heidemann, City of Poway

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Editor’s Note: This feature highlights new members of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 36-member Board of Directors. Each of the Water Authority’s 24 member agencies appoints at least one representative to the Board, which sets policy for the Water Authority.

Welcome to the Board: Eric Heidemann, City of Poway

Who: Eric Heidemann was seated on the Board of Directors on May 8, 2020, representing the City of Poway. Director Heidemann serves on the Imported Water and Engineering and Operations committees for the Water Authority.

Background/Education: University of Arizona, B.S. Business and M.S. Urban Planning

Water Industry Affiliations: 

City of Poway, Public Works Director

Metro Wastewater Commission JPA

American Water Works Association (AWWA)

American Public Works Association (APWA)

League of Californian Cities

Q & A

Q: How did you get interested in water issues?

A: I was born in California, raised in Arizona, and after graduating college – worked as a planner in Colorado.  I’ve spent my entire life in the Southwest. As a kid from Tucson, I lived through decade-long droughts and watched the Central Arizona Project (CAP) be constructed and deliver Colorado River water to southern Arizona.  That was a big deal back then.  In Colorado, I worked for a small town near Vail (at the headwaters of the Colorado River) and was responsible for managing development and the Town’s very senior water rights portfolio.  Currently, I’m the Director of Public Works for the City of Poway and responsible for, among other things, its water treatment and distribution systems.  I’m a product of the Southwest, and water has had a strong influence on my personal and professional life.

Q: What are your priorities or interests as a Board member?

A: My priorities as a Board member are to work hard, listen carefully, and add value wherever I can.  The SDCWA is a premier organization with excellent staff and strong administrative and financial policies.  I want to see that continue.  I don’t take the responsibly of being a Board Member lightly – I feel honored to work with some of the brightest minds in water.

Q: Besides maintaining safe and reliable water supplies, what do you see as the top three issues facing the San Diego region?

A:  Housing, transportation, and aging infrastructure.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not working?

A: Now that my kids are older I spend a lot of my free time running. Recently, I’ve been stretching myself by training for an ultra-marathon. It really helps me think, clear my mind, and reduce stress.

The Water Authority’s Board of Directors typically meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The Board invites the public to attend its monthly meetings and to comment on agenda items or other matters before the Board. For meeting times, agendas and documents, go to​ www.sdcwa.org/board-directors.

Agencies Seek Relief Funds to Cover Delinquent Water Bills

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Water agencies across the region are seeking help from the County of San Diego and the 18 incorporated cities in the county to provide essential financial relief for households throughout the county that are facing growing water bill delinquencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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COVID-Water Debt-Debt Relief-Coronvirus

Agencies Seek Relief Funds to Cover Delinquent Water Bills

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Water agencies across the region are seeking help from the County of San Diego and the 18 incorporated cities in the county to provide essential financial relief for households throughout the county that are facing growing water bill delinquencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The water agencies are asking that the cities and the county allocate state and federal COVID relief funds to provide water bill offsets for financially strapped residents.

Local water suppliers “have not received any COVID-related funding assistance to help address the substantial water debt held by residents of our communities that would help to provide much-needed relief to water ratepayers,” according to mid-February letters from water officials to county and city leaders.

Helping with water debt repayment a “high priority”

“It’s very important to prioritize helping those San Diegans first who are at greatest risk of serious economic harm as a result of the pandemic so they can avoid exacerbating their dire financial conditions as the pandemic lingers,” said the letters. “We believe that helping residents with water debt repayment should be one of those high priorities, and we look forward to working with you in the coming weeks to ensure that COVID relief funds that you receive from the State or through direct federal allocation are shared in the same spirit of partnership that we reach out to you today.”

The letters were signed by the San Diego County Water Authority and 12 of its member agencies: the cities of Del Mar, Escondido and Oceanside, Sweetwater Authority, Otay Water District, Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Helix Water District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, Vallecitos Water District, Vista Irrigation District, Rincon del Diablo Municipal Water District, and Valley Center Municipal Water District. California American Water, which serves Coronado and Imperial Beach, also signed the letters.

Debt crisis

“The water suppliers would commit to see that any resources received are allocated directly to offset water bill delinquencies that have accumulated since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, or that have materially increased over the past 10 months,” said the letters.

“This accumulation of debt – along with other utility, rent, and unpaid bill debt – threatens to create a long-term and enveloping household economic crisis for thousands of San Diegans. While the water supplier community has worked closely with our Congressional partners and the Newsom Administration, there has not been COVID financial relief forthcoming directly to water suppliers to help customers with the growing crisis of household water debt.”

Pandemic-related water bill debt

Recent reports show that nearly 70,000 households in San Diego County have accumulated pandemic-related water bill debt. It is estimated that San Diego County customers alone owe as much as $50 million in water bill payments that are currently delinquent and in arrears as a direct result of the pandemic.

$1 billion in unpaid water bills

The State Water Resources Control Board recently released the results of a statewide survey of water systems which found that California residents owe an estimated $1 billion in unpaid water bills that have accumulated since the Governor issued COVID-related emergency orders in early April 2020.

Under California law, water agencies are prohibited from taking money from reserves to pay off the debt for ratepayers behind on their bills.  “As a result, an independent source of funds, separate and apart from rate revenue, is necessary to provide the types of rate offsets and relief that are so desperately needed by our customers,” the letters state.

The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 retail member agencies do not make a profit. Rather, rates and charges support the infrastructure and supply that provides the safe, reliable water that fuels the region’s economy and quality of life.

Water Authority Seeks to Reduce Water Costs Countywide

/in , , /by /East County Magazine Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Addressing the San Diego region’s limited local water supplies with innovative ideas is something the San Diego County Water Authority has become known for. Using expertise gained from decades of successful planning and projects, the Water Authority is developing strategies to reduce the future cost of water that sustains the economy and quality of life across the county.

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San Diegans Are Drowning in Water Debt During COVID-19

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Once the water bills started piling up, Shara Sin and her children switched to eating off paper plates to avoid the cost of washing.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 53-year-old mother of four’s finances were already precariously balanced. She doesn’t work anymore because mental health complications cause her short-term memory loss and pain.

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Tens of Thousands of San Diegans Are in Debt Over Their Water Bills

/in , , /by /NBC7 San Diegoby Bob Hansen and Nicholas Kjeldgaard Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The coronavirus pandemic shook the economy of the United States and San Diego.

More than 100,000 people in San Diego County lost their jobs last year, and many have made tough choices financially. That’s led, in part, to nearly a billion dollars in statewide water-bill debt, according to a new report from the state water board.

“Folks are trying to scrape by and make ends meet,” said Allen Carlisle, the CEO & general manager of Padre Dam Municipal Water District. “The first things on our minds are those families who are struggling and how do we try to help them?”

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