West Valley Water District Re-Elects Board President Hawkins, Vice President Crowther

West Valley Water District Re-Elects Board President Hawkins, Vice President Crowther 

RIALTO, CA – On the heels of major reforms for ratepayers and in the midst of a pandemic-driven revenue decreases, the West Valley Water District (WVWD) Board of Directors re-elected Board President Channing Hawkins and Vice President Kyle Crowther to continue a massively positive turnaround that involves increased accountability, transparency and job opportunities for ratepayers and their families.

This time last year, Hawkins and Crowther were elected, seeking to usher in a new era of unity and progress for WVWD. This year’s agenda involved efforts to remove unnecessary costs while maintaining optimal service levels, improve accountability, increase transparency and provide job opportunities and training for the people of the Inland Empire. As a result, the WVWD board has worked together to become a valuable community resource, implement innovative initiatives, initiate critical infrastructure projects and establish partnerships that create job education programs that will provide the Inland Empire with generations of engineering and water industry professionals.

“We faced tremendous challenges in 2020, but in the end, we persevered, worked together and coming out stronger,” said WVWD Board President Channing Hawkins. “I’m proud of our board’s collaborative effort to improve our organization and public trust in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. Despite this progress, there is still more that needs to be done and I’m looking forward to making our West Valley Water District an industry leader in 2021.”

In October, the board approved a slate of 10 major reforms crafted with staff and vetted by department managers. The reforms included rigorous accounting and financial reporting measures, a new board policies and procedures manual and new water sustainability and efficiency projects. From live-streaming and video-recording board meetings to regularly posting financial and water data online, WVWD’s reforms earned the organization the Special Districts Leadership Foundation’s Transparency Certificate of Excellence. The award, which promotes transparency in operations and governance of special districts to the public, required WVWD to adhere to strict reporting and transparency rules and procedures. In addition to these accomplishments, the board also recently approved and established the Inland Empire Water Career Pathways Program, which will help fill a critical skills gap and provide jobs for local students and residents.

“Our ratepayers—our community—demanded change, and we delivered massive progress in improving our services and our organization,” said WVWD Vice President Kyle Crowther. “I’m most proud of being able to cut spending in order to prevent any discussion on rate increases, expand infrastructure investment, and maintain a balanced budget even in the face of a pandemic that has dramatically reduced our revenue. Families in our communities are still experiencing financial difficulties due to the pandemic and our board remains committed to assisting them as we continue in this crisis.”

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The West Valley Water District has proudly served the Southern California communities of Bloomington, Colton, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, and Jurupa Valley since 1952. Through name changes and consolidation, the mission has always remained the same: to provide customers with safe, high quality, and reliable water service at a reasonable rate and in a sustainable manner. The District provides water for 83,000 customers and is overseen by a five-member, publicly-elected Board of Directors.