Lois Henry Resigns from SLV Water Board • San Lorenzo Valley Water Post-CZU Progress Report, By Rick Rogers

COMMUNITY NEWS

Lois Henry Resigns from SLV Water Board

Lois Henry, a board member of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District December 2018, resigned as of March 1.

The Board of Directors will address the vacancy at an upcoming board meeting. Details will be posted on slvwd.com.

A Lompico resident, Henry served on the Lompico County Water District board from December 2008 to June 2016 — before and during its 2016 consolidation with San Lorenzo Valley Water District. She played a vital role in the consolidation, and her financial background as a credit union CEO helped the water district move capital improvement projects forward.

She was the SLV water district appointee to the Santa Margarita Groundwater Agency, which after many meetings completed a sustainability plan for the Santa Margarita basin in 2021, as mandated by the state.

“Lois has been a major force in shaping the water landscape in San Lorenzo Valley legacy she can be proud of,” said Board President Gail Mahood.

“In her exchanges with staff, and, when it came time to vote, could be

counted on to put what was best for the District first, regardless of politics,” continued Mahood. “Being a relative newcomer to the Valley, I especially valued the perspectives Lois brought from her involvement in the foundational stages of the Santa Lois Henry Margarita groundwater agency and from her critical role in rescuing the Lompico water district from financial catastrophe and then shepherding the process of consolidation with

SLVWD.” District Manager Rick Rogers said: “It’s not often a new director gets elected and hits the ground running, there’s usually a big learning curve. With Lois’s experience and financial background, she did just that, she hit the ground running.”

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District, established in 1941, is governed by a five-member Board of Directors, elected at-large.

The district has190 miles of pipeline and provides water to 7,900 residential, commercial, and institutional connections with two sources derived solely from rainfall within the San Lorenzo River watershed. n

San Lorenzo Valley Water Post-CZU Progress Report

By Rick Rogers

Our community continues its resiliency and commitment to building a better San Lorenzo Valley Water District. In 2021, we made major strides in improving our water system after the impacts of the 2020 CZU Wildfire Complex.

We continued to upgrade aging infrastructure, began to harden critical infrastructure facilities, and moved forward with crucial planning efforts. In 2022, the district will continue to move these efforts full-speed ahead. The “State of the District” details 2021 accomplishments and upcoming projects in 2022.

I’d like to highlight the following efforts. In the 2020 fire, the district lost seven of its nine surface water intakes, which in the winter months is the primary water source for a majority of the system. In December 2021, the draft construction feasibility report for rebuilding the raw water supply lines, to bring the damaged surface water intakes back online, was released to the Engineering Committee.

In early 2022, the board will give staff direction on moving the reconstruction of the pipeline forward, increasing water reliability for the district. The district has made progress on capital improvements, completing three tank upgrades, and 11 pipeline replacements improving fire flow, while carrying out emergency work throughout the system. In 2021, the district received about $600,000 in grant funding for fire resiliency and forest health projects. These grants will harden and reduce fuel loads around critical infrastructure while promoting a healthier forested watershed.

“SLVWD” page 19

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