Glendora Water Commission re‑elects Hanson and hears updates on conservation, leaks and supply

The Glendora Water Commission on Jan. 23, 2025, elected Commissioner Richard Hanson as chair by acclamation and received three staff presentations on water conservation, water distribution and the city's water supply outlook.

The commission's conservation briefing, delivered by conservation staff Armando De Jesus, described education and rebate programs, partnerships with regional agencies and a state-assigned reduction target for 2025. De Jesus said the city is promoting a student poster contest, participating in the Association of California Water Agencies conference and continuing device rebate programs in coordination with the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and a contractor called Waterwise. He noted that some items previously administered through Glendora are now processed through MWD and appear as a blacked‑out section on the program dashboard while the transition is underway.

"We're currently, promoting this year's poster contest right now, and it'll end on March 14th," De Jesus said. He also described an outreach workshop scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Glendora Library on creating defensible space around homes to reduce wildfire risk.

The staff briefing said the state assigned Glendora a 21% reduction target for 2025; De Jesus and commissioners discussed enforcement and outreach. De Jesus said the city will generate lists of the largest users, contact the top 20 users in targeted areas and begin sending letters with usage reports to customers who have increased consumption. When asked about penalties for missing the target, De Jesus said, "I believe it's $10,000 per day, something like that," adding that the state also evaluates whether cities are actively running conservation programs rather than immediately issuing fines.

On distribution, water operations staff Jake Severa reported a rise in leak repairs. Severa said January activity already showed 17 leaks and the division is on pace for more than 400 leak repairs this year. He gave details of a recently completed Oak Park emergency main replacement: about 750 linear feet of 8‑inch main replaced, 12 customer services, two hydrants, one blow‑off and an air vacuum unit were installed; the old steel main was replaced with C909 plastic.

"So it's not in here, but we're already on pace to hit over 400 leaks in the year," Severa said, noting the division is using a new hydro‑excavator purchased in December to speed repairs. He said most current leaks are on older six‑inch steel mains laid in the early to mid‑20th century.

Severa and other staff outlined planned capital improvements, and told commissioners the utility has identified a multiyear pipeline replacement program. Staff said roughly $300 million (stated as "over 300,000,000" in the meeting) of capital improvement projects and water main replacements are programmed for the coming years; staff asked to provide a CIP project update at the next meeting.

On supply, water supply staff Dale Wirtz summarized regional deliveries, reservoir and snowpack conditions. Wirtz said Glendora's rain gauge recorded about 0.55 inches for October through December 2024, down from 3.39 inches in the same period in 2023 and 6.84 inches in 2022. He reported Sierra snowpack measured about 162% of normal on Jan. 1, 2025, falling to roughly 126% by Jan. 14; Colorado River basin snowpack was around 94% of normal during the same window.

Wirtz also reported reservoir and allocation figures: Lake Powell storage near the mid-30s percent and Lake Mead a little above 30%; California's larger reservoir set was reported at about two-thirds of average and the State Water Project allocation was 5% as of Dec. 2, 2024. He said Glendora made no Metropolitan Water District purchases during the quarter and summarized local well production: October 932 acre‑feet, November 779.3 acre‑feet and December 772.2 acre‑feet. Wirtz reported the local key well elevation rose from about 246.8 feet on Dec. 20 to 247.9 feet on Jan. 17.

"We're receiving waters from outside of the area and it's been a constant flow now for probably a year," Wirtz said, explaining why some groundwater elevations increased despite dry local rainfall.

Commissioners asked about program participation, how the city will identify and notify customers with rising usage, and whether outreach mailed separately from bills might attract more attention. Staff said they plan to send letters to high users with a usage report and to expand marketing for rebate and survey programs, and that Waterwise currently conducts the surveys paid through MWD funding.

Votes at a glance

- Reorganization: "Elect Richard Hanson as chair" — elected by acclamation (declared by the deputy city clerk); outcome: approved by acclamation; mover/second: not specified; tally: not recorded (acclamation). - Reorganization: "Elect Commissioner Holmes as vice chair" — elected by acclamation; outcome: approved by acclamation; mover/second: not specified; tally: not recorded (acclamation). - Consent calendar: Approve minutes of Oct. 24, 2024 — motion approved, outcome: approved; tally: 5-0. - Receive and file: Water conservation program update (presented by Armando De Jesus) — motion approved, outcome: approved; tally: 5-0. - Receive and file: FY 24-25 water distribution update (presented by Jake Severa) — motion approved, outcome: approved; tally: 5-0. - Receive and file: Water supply outlook (presented by Dale Wirtz) — motion approved, outcome: approved; tally: 5-0.

Why this matters: staff told the commission the city must document and show active conservation programs to the state while pursuing a multi‑year capital program to replace aging mains that are driving leaks and water loss. Commissioners directed staff to return with a CIP update and additional outreach metrics.

The commission adjourned after brief closing remarks; staff said they will add rainfall data and regional city comparisons to future conservation reports and circulate updated website instructions for accessing zone and billing information.