| BIA widens scope of local water conference |
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The Baldy View chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California is preparing for its third annual water conference, to be held Aug. 20 at the Ontario Convention Center. This year's gathering has been expanded to include an official from the federal government.
Lorri Gray-Lee, regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region, is scheduled to deliver the conference's keynote address, said Carlos Rodriguez, the association's deputy executive officer. The bureau is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is the largest wholesale supplier of water in the United States and provides water to more than 31 million people in the western United States, according to the bureau's Web site. Officials from an estimated 100 water agencies, mostly from San Bernardino and Riverside counties, are scheduled to attend the one-day event, said Frank Williams, the association's chief executive officer. State Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga; San Bernardino County Supervisors Gary Ovitt and Josie Gonzales; and Ontario City Councilman Jim Bowman are expected to attend, according to a press release by the association. Using a question-and-answer format, panelists from the public and private sector will discuss ways to manage the region's water supply. Gray-Lee, who was appointed in 2007 to head the bureau's Lower Colorado Region, has held several posts during the 26 years she has worked for that department. "We've never had anyone from the federal government speak before," said Rodriguez, the event's main planner. "We like to do something different every year, but we also thought it was important to have the federal voice heard this year, especially with a new administration in power." The conference will take a "macro" approach to finding ways to manage the region's water supply, said Kirby Brill, general manager of the Mojave Water Agency. "Water is crucial because water means jobs," said Brill, whose Apple Valley-based agency distributes more than 75,000 acre-feet of water every year to much of the High Desert. "Ultimately, San Bernardino County's problem is a lack of a sufficient water supply. With all of the problems and uncertainties out there, getting a sufficient water supply is a lot harder to do." For more information on the event, visit www.sbcwater.com.
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