The West Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors elected Edward C. Little to serve as its Board President for 2014 at its January board meeting. Little has served on the West Basin Board since 1989 and previously served as both board president and vice president during his 25-year-tenure.
West Basin’s state-of-the-art water recycling facility is named after Director Little in honor of his commitment to wastewater recycling and to providing a reliable diverse water supply for the region. West Basin’s Board organization occurs once annually at its January board meeting. Serving as vice president this year is Donald L. Dear who has served on the West Basin Board since 2000 and Ronald (Ron) C. Smith remains in his post as Treasurer.
West Basin Municipal Water District serves a population of nearly one million people living within 17 cities in the South Bay and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Five publicly elected directors govern West Basin’s 185-squaremile service area. Below are links to the websites of the 17 cities we serve.
West Basin Municipal Water District is an innovative public agency that provides drinking and recycled water to its 185-square mile service area. West Basin purchases imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and wholesale the imported water to cities and private companies in southwest Los Angeles County. West Basin is a recognized leader in the production of recycled water and its conservation and education programs are fundamental to West Basin’s diverse water portfolio. To protect our local groundwater basin from seawater intrusion, West Basin provides water for injection into the South Bay’s seawater barriers.
Faced with a declining water table and over-reliance on water from the West Coast Groundwater Basin in the 1940’s, water authorities recommended the establishment of the West Basin Municipal Water District. In 1947, the voters approved their recommendation and West Basin was formed. A year later, West Basin became a member agency of MWD, a 37-member agency that provides the region with imported water. In the early 1990’s West Basin added recycled water to its portfolio and, today, is active in conservation, education, and exploring ocean-water desalination to create more reliable, local sources of drinking water. West Basin is the sixth largest water district in California, serving a population of nearly one million people.
West Basin’s service area uses 220,000 acre-feet of water annually. An acre-foot of water is approximately 326,000 gallons, enough to meet the water needs of two average families in and around their homes for one year.
