Scott Houston is running to represent District 4 on the Board of Directors of West Basin Municipal Water District because he believes that he can make a difference. Through education and by building on current water-saving efforts, Houston is confident that as a board member he can make a positive impact.
“In the middle of the drought the public has gotten the message that we need to conserve and as a person who is running for the water board I am very focused on making sure that we have good, reliable water while trying to minimize price increases,” Houston said. “It is a long-term education effort and we are part-way there but we just have to keep promoting why we need to work hard to save water.”
If elected during the Nov. 4 election, Houston will be represent the cities of Culver City, El Segundo, West Hollywood and Malibu, and the unincorporated County areas of Topanga, Marina del Rey, North Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Lennox, Wiseburn and Del Aire. Houston has lived in the district almost 20 years and has been active in his community and the greater Los Angeles area.
“I used to serve on a Public Work’s Commission in El Segundo for four years and dealt with infrastructure projects in the city, including water storage,” Houston said. “That is what set off my interest in infrastructure. I have a really good understanding of local government issues and we have the water recycling plant located in the City of El Segundo.”
A couple of letters to the editor received by Culver City News questioned Houston’s credibility as a candidate due to past political endorsements. Still, Houston believes that with his experience and knowledge he can help the district become more efficient about saving water.
“My number one concern right now is our reliance on imported water. With the drought and uncertainty of water allocation, it is important that the district looks at ways to lower our dependence on imported water and one of the ways that we can do that is through water recycling capabilities,” Houston said. “We have the world renowned Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility here in El Segundo. I want to look at ways to increase the capacity of that plant. It has certainly been expanded in the past but we should do it again so we can offset our reliance to imported water.”
Houston stressed the importance of engaging with the public in order to achieve better results when conserving water and breaking the region’s dependence on imported water.
“It is imperative that we educate the public on lowering our outdoor water use, in particular by potentially changing to drought-tolerant plants outdoors and removing current turf,” Houston said. “There are great rebate program out there to encourage folks to do that. We are working with the school districts and schools to help educate our youth about water conservation and we continually take students on field trips to the el Segundo Recycle Plant to learn about the tools and how water conservation works.”
