Members of the statewide Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) have elected Contra Costa Water District Director Bette Boatmun to a two-year term as president. E. G. "Jerry" Gladbach, director of Castaic Lake Water Agency, was elected vice president during the association's annual fall conference.
Boatmun, who has served as ACWA's vice president since January 2000, has been active in California water issues for 27 years. She was first elected to the Contra Costa Water District Board of Directors in 1974 and was president from 1990 to 1992, during the height of a six-year drought.
A former public school teacher, Boatmun is a past chair of ACWA's Region 5, which includes the Central Coast and the Bay Area. She is active in a number of local community organizations and is chair of the East County Water Management Association and the Contra Costa Special Districts Association.
"California has entered an era of incredible change and challenge," Boatmun said. "The decisions we make today will literally mean the difference between a secure water future and a water supply crisis. I am honored to help lead ACWA as it plays an active role in shaping solutions."
Gladbach is a civil engineer with a long record of experience in water and power issues. He has served on ACWA's Board of Directors for nearly 10 years and currently is chair of the association's Region 8, which includes Los Angeles and Ventura counties. He is also vice president of ACWA Utility Service Agency (ACWA-USA), a joint powers authority formed in 1996 to water agency demands for energy and other services.
A former engineer and manager with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Gladbach has been a director of Castaic Lake Water Agency in Santa Clarita since 1985. He is a member of the Water Education Foundation's Board of Directors and the Groundwater Resources Association.
Boatmun succeeds outgoing ACWA President Jim Blake, who is a director of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
ACWA is a statewide organization whose 440 public water agencies are responsible for about 90 percent of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwanet.com.
Source: Association of California Water Agencies
