IEUA awarded for sustainable water management from the Water Foundation

The non-profit Water Foundation – an advocate for better water policies and management – awarded Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) a Gold rating for the agency’s Sustainable Water Management (SWM) Profile earlier this week at a meeting of the utility’s board of directors. The agency earned the prestigious rating for providing leadership and support for the planning, implementation and collaboration needed for sustainable water supply management for its member agencies, regional partners and the people who share dependence on common water supplies.

The Water Foundation’s SWM Profile assesses a water supply agency’s performance by examining the water supplies it directly or indirectly relies upon. The SWM Profile uses simple metrics in identifying the vulnerability of water systems to key stressors – the system’s risks or threats — in the areas of environment, supply, demand and finance. The SWM Profile evaluates management responses to these stressors by the water agency and the broader region. IEUA’s response and efforts, especially in the areas of groundwater cleanup and recharge, recycled water and water efficiency, have achieved more stable and sufficient local water supplies and improved water quality.

“IEUA recognizes the need for long-term sustainability of water supplies and the importance of collaboration beyond our service area while always considering the future. IEUA continues to work with its member agencies, the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and others to achieve sustainability,” stated IEUA Board President Steve Elie. “Collaboration and demonstrated progress are two identifiers which led to our excellent ranking. We will continue to both lead and collaborate to achieve long term regional sustainability.”

The SWM Profile, a pilot program, is a collaborative effort among experts in the field of water management and sustainability. The SWM Profile project team, led by the Water Foundation, includes representatives from Environmental Science Associates, The Bay Institute, and Sonoma Ecology Center, as well as technical support from M.Cubed and Mike Antos of California State University, Northridge. The Water Foundation developed the SWM Profile to drive improvement in regional water supply stewardship.

“The SWM Profile was created to provide a framework to encourage progress on the path of sustainability. Very few, if any, profile subjects are expected to achieve a Gold rating given the profound gap between what is presently considered to be ‘leading practice’ water management and true sustainable water management,” stated Mike Myatt, Water Foundation program officer. “I applaud IEUA for taking part in the SWM Profile. IEUA has taken accountability and responsibility for sustainable practices and continues to demonstrate progress toward this goal. This process has proved to be useful in providing a model for those that think achieving sustainability is beyond their reach.”

IEUA’s member agencies in the SWM Profile process also hailed the recent Gold rating the agency received from the Water Foundation. Susan Longville, SAWPA chair and San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District board president said, “IEUA leads the way in sustainability. The SWM Profile demonstrates this by revealing IEUA’s accomplishments. I appreciate our collaborative efforts with IEUA, and would like to see other agencies evaluated in the future. This evaluation reveals ideas that help chart the future for sustainability. The SWM Profile ranking is in-depth and rigorous, which is something that we need.”