According to Richard Corneille, retired from the SBCWCD and president of the Water Board, at the Chamber of Commerce meeting on Tuesday, January 28, the District does not provide water; it comes from Northern California. The District’s job is to capture as much of the River and other sources such as the mountains, as possible and replenishes our water supplies underground. Its main intake is in the Wash just east of Garnet Street and also east of the aggregate mining by CEMEX, etc., which pay the District for doing so The District is comprised of 50,000 acres, 70,000 acre feet of water, only 1,000 acre feet of which would supply one or two homes for a year. (Also, see brochure below)
The SBCWCD purchased 25 acres of the former Lockheed property (now Seven W Enterprises) and its basins; in response to audience members’ questions he said the water quality is constantly monitored for toxins. Lockheed paid for cleanup for years, he stated. The District plans to keep the area in its present habitat and as a buffer, protecting several native animal and floral species (but not Mentone residents, he admitted in response to an audience member’s joke). The San Bernardino Municipal Water District is much larger, he explained. The District also owns and rents a four-bedroom house to Steps4Life, which provides transitional housing for persons, from homeless to their own home, said Corneille. MM
Water-Conservation-Brochure Water-Conservation-Brochure-II