press release

February 23, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WATER BOARDS ELECT OFFICERS

The Board of Directors of the South Bay Irrigation District has elected new officers.

Jim Doud, Sr., director from Division 2, was named President, and Ski Wolniewicz, director from Division 4, was named Vice President.

Doud is a retired engineer and Chula Vista resident, formerly with Rohr, Inc. He has served on the Irrigation Board since 1995. He also serves as a commissioner on the Association of California Water Agencies Utilities Service Authority, and represents Sweetwater Authority on the Chula Vista Inter Agency Water Task Force and the Western Coalition of Arid States.

Wolniewicz, also Chula Vista resident, is a retired naval officer and aviator. He has served on the Irrigation District Board for seven years. He is immediate past Chairman of the Sweetwater Authority Governing Board, and is the Vice Chairman of the California Special Districts Association. He currently holds positions on the LAFCO Special District Advisory Committee and the Regional Board of the Association of California Water Agencies.

Directors of the South Bay Irrigation District represent Chula Vista and Bonita residents on the Sweetwater Authority Governing Board. The Irrigation District and National City established a joint powers authority to own and operate Sweetwater Authority in 1977. Directors establish plans and policies to assure a safe, reliable water supply for more than 175,000 residents of Chula Vista, National City and Bonita.

New officers also began terms at Sweetwater Authority in January. Margaret Cook Welsh, of Bonita, will serve as Authority Chairman for two years. Jim Doud, Sr. will serve as Vice Chairman.

Welsh has been a member of the Authority Board since 1984. She is employed as a teacher with the Sweetwater Union High School District, and represents residents of Bonita on the South Bay Irrigation District Board. Welsh is well known in the community as an advocate for children and families, and for her professional and volunteer work as a parent educator.

Meetings of the Sweetwater Authority Board are held the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, at 6:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively. Meetings of the South Bay Irrigation District Board are held the third Monday of each month at 3:30 p.m. Meetings of both agencies are held at 505 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, and are open to the public.

Editor's Note: Sweetwater Authority is a public water agency. The Authority owns and operates Sweetwater and Loveland Reservoirs, the National City Wells, the Robert A. Perdue Water Treatment Plant in Spring Valley, and the Richard A. Reynolds Groundwater Demineralization Facility in Chula Vista. 70 percent of the Authority's service demands are met through this mix of local water sources.