TODAY news - Jan. 16, 2003

Thursday, January 16, 2003 TODAY

Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center news

LLU professor reflects on service in local community

LLU professor reflects on service in local community

Donald J. Kurth, MD

Editor’s note: Donald J. Kurth, MD, associate professor in the department of psychiatry, and chief of addiction medicine, Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center, was appointed eight years ago to serve on the board of directors of the Cucamonga County Water District (CCWD), which received the best employer in the Inland Empire award from the Inland Business Journal. Recently, Dr. Kurth also accepted a two-year appointment to serve as city councilman for Rancho Cucamonga. The following was taken from “Water district tenure produced solid results,” an article written by Dr. Kurth for publication in Los Angeles Times.

As I step up to my new role as Rancho Cucamonga city councilman, I want to take just a moment to thank my colleagues at the Cucamonga County Water District and the voters who gave me a chance to serve. My term as president of CCWD has been one of rapid development in terms of infrastructure and capital development, water resources expansion, and advanced technology.

This has been a team effort, made possible only through the cooperation and harmony of our board of directors, committed staff, and educated and informed citizens. At the time of my first election to the board in 1995, CCWD was plagued with crises: sewer backups, looming water shortages, discouraged employees and a decrepit physical plant with a leaky roof and growing repair expenses. The department of health services had threatened to close our Cucamonga Canyon water plant for failure to meet federal water quality standards and our infrastructure was in disrepair. The situation looked bleak. Undaunted, our board identified the problems, addressed the issues separately, and set the policy course for a new future for CCWD. We hired general manager Robert DeLoach and developed new management strategies. We forged a new management team—one adept in the new water science technologies just developing. Once that team was in place, we set course to tackle the problems before us.

Infrastructure and capital development

The highest profile developments have included the planning, design, and development of the Arthur Bridge Water Treatment Plant, CCWD administration building and maintenance building (under construction), and Lloyd Michaels Water Treatment Plant (the doubling of our capacity is almost complete). Much of this development was achieved without any additional cost to the voters. Some of the money was saved during the years by prudent financial management and other money raised through sale of surplus land.

Water resources expansion

Expansion of new water resources and stabilization of existing water resources have been at the forefront of our CCWD water policy. Purchase of the Kaiser shares of Fontana Union Water Company, has enabled us to expand our water supplies. This will prove invaluable in future years as limited Southern California water becomes even more dear.

Working through Bob Neufeld, CCWD board member and water master chair, our board helped craft the peace agreement, resolving longstanding legal disputes involving water rights in the Chino Basin. Again, we have gained national recognition and have become a model for the resolution of similar disputes across America that involve the sometimes conflicting water needs of agriculture, industry, and our citizens.

Advanced water science

CCWD has embraced advanced technology and developed applications as diverse as district GIS mapping, membrane technology water filtration, and protection of water supplies from terrorist attack. The time for recycling water is here. This technology is at our fingertips and CCWD is actively seeking grants to get our first plants installed and operating. Every gallon of water we recycle will expand our water supply by that same amount. We stand on the verge of implementation of this new technology.

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Thursday, January 16, 2003 TODAY