Message from the Board President
There is an old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”. Typically, when something is out of sight, it often leads to it being taken for granted. That is until it is needed most and it is nowhere to be found. Here at the Yorba Linda Water District, “out of sight, out of mind” is often done on purpose. YLWD maintains over $1 billion in infrastructure. This infrastructure consists of twelve booster pump stations, fourteen reservoirs, ten wells, and over twenty-five thousand water and sewer connections in our community.
Our infrastructure is often designed to be blended into a hillside or even part of a residential neighborhood. Most people don’t even realize that the equipment which is located down the street from them is the same equipment that allows them to turn on a faucet for water or even flush their toilet. Our highly trained staff takes pride in ensuring that even though it may be out of your sight, our mission of providing safe and reliable drinking water is never out of our minds.
On February 22, 2020, we will be highlighting three of our District sites and offering a tour to visit them. This tour will showcase our PFAS Pilot Study Program, the Fairmont Booster Pump Station and the Santiago Reservoir which houses our helicopter hydrant. This helicopter hydrant serves as the first and only permanently installed helicopter hydrant in the world that assists first responders in fighting wildfires. This will be a great opportunity for us to share a little bit more about what we do here at the Yorba Linda Water District. Know that space is limited, so please make your reservations by clicking the link below.
From all of us at the Yorba Linda Water District, thank you for being a valued member of our community!
Phil Hawkins, Board President
Message from the General Manager
As a military service veteran, I have come to appreciate the significance and importance of voting in elections to choose our leadership. Many have sacrificed much, including their lives to protect our freedom and right to vote. So what does this have to do with your water district? Yorba Linda Water District prides itself as a valued member of the community, and we continually look for opportunities to provide additional service to our customers. Consequently, we have volunteered to become a new Orange County Voting Center.
The District Office in Placentia will be open to the public as a Vote Center for four days to cast your votes from February 29 to March 2. The hours will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
What can you do at a Vote Center? Not only can you vote, but you can also solve voter registration issues, register to vote, get a replacement ballot, and get general assistance. Plus, electronic check-in is more secure and speeds up the process, saving you valuable time.
More information is available at, and for a complete list of voting locations, dates, and hours are at this
link.
Without you, there is no us. Soon I will be moving into a new phase of life known as retirement. Having been a General Manager of two water districts for more than 16 years, I frequently reflect on the differences between water districts, then and now. Many do not realize the complexities of the drinking water industry. We take water for granted, and consequently water and wastewater workers are victims of our own success. As President Hawkins mentioned in this issue, our employees take much pride in building a complex network of high-dollar water mains, pump stations, valves, reservoirs, wastewater mains, and more to serve our community, and bury it where nobody can see it. The better we did our job, the less you knew about us.
My wife often reminds me to be humble, and while this reminder serves me well in personal relationships, being humble has been a disservice to the water industry. In the past, our relationship with you, the customer, has often felt like we were distant cousins instead of close family. We hardly knew each other. We did not brag about the work behind getting you that glass of water, or in removing your wastewater. In many cases our customers have little idea how we spend their hard-earned money when paying their water bill. We flew below the radar, so to some we were not valued.
At Yorba Linda Water District, we are hard at work to change that dynamic. Especially over the past two years, we have made a special effort to show our customers what we do. We hold annual Open House events each spring to answer questions, show off our employees and equipment, and how life is better as a result.
We conduct informative tours showing off our well-maintained facilities and the skills of our water and wastewater professionals. We produce written public reports about our water quality and robust sampling program and we produce public electronic Maintenance and Operations reports.
We send bill messages and inserts about new bill pay programs and features, and maintain a comprehensive web site that allows you to pay bills or find out about your water or construction activities. Soon we will be coming to different neighborhoods to hold town meetings where you can see displays and ask questions.
And, of course, we send out monthly newsletters like this one. Please forgive me for this lapse of humility, but we want to be close family, not distant relatives like in the past.
Marc Marcantonio, General Manager
Infrastructure Tour: Registration Now Open
YLWD is hosting an infrastructure tour on Saturday, February 22, 2020 from 1 PM – 3 PM. The tour will visit the PFAS Pilot Study at YLWD’s Well 21 site, the newly constructed Fairmont Booster Pump Station, and the helicopter hydrant at Santiago Reservoir.
Yorba Linda Water District
1717 E. Miraloma Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870
Due to popular demand, reservations are required. Register
HERE.
*Tour space is limited to community members 18+ years of age only with closed toe shoes.
YLWD Awarded ‘District of Distinction’ and ‘District Transparency Certificate in Excellence”
Yorba Linda Water District received the District of Distinction and District Transparency Certificate of Excellence by the Special District Leadership Foundation(SDLF) in recognition of its outstanding efforts to promote transparency and good governance.
