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THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL 6 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com April 2021 www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com www.facebook/thevalleybusinessjournal For questions, comments, or story ideas, please e-mail publishertvbj@verizon.net or call (951) 461-0400. EDITOR/PUBLISHER/CEO Linda Wunderlich Email: publishertvbj@verizon.net ADVERTISING SALES INFORMATION (951) 461-0400 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Helen M. Ryan VP OF DISTRIBUTION Dane Wunderlich FORMER COMMUNITY LEADER BARBARA ANN HORD JOHNSON Barbara Ann Hord Johnson, 86, of Fresno, California passed away peacefully at her home on March 4, 2021 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Barbara was born December 25, 1934 to her parents, Charles and Mildred Hord, in Southland, Texas. When she was two years old, her family moved to Calwa, California. She attended Calwa Elementary School and, then, Longfellow Junior High School in Fresno, California. There she became the first woman Student Body President. Barbara attended Roosevelt High School where she was an outstanding student and took many leadership roles. There she also met the love of her life, O.B. Johnson, who she married right after graduation in September of 1952 in Fresno. After marrying O.B. and settling in Fresno, Barbara worked for the Germain Seed Company and, then, became Secretary/Bookeeper for many years at Caruthers Union Elementary School District. They welcomed their daughter, Kellie, before moving to San Mateo with the General Electric Co. where their son, Stuart, was born. Through O.B.’s tenure with GE, the family moved many times across the country and eventually ended back in Fresno. During these moves, Barbara made many friends and never complained and always supported her family. After returning to Fresno, Barbara was instrumental in establishing the Women’s Council for the Fresno Building Industry Association. She also helped organize the California Building Industry Association’s Women’s Council and held various leadership positions. In 1998, Barbara and O.B. moved to Murrieta, California where Barbara was active on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Temecula. Her passion was helping underserved youth in the community and she was tireless in her fundraising efforts. Barbara and O.B. moved back to Fresno in 2018 where she spent her final years. Barbara was caring, loving and generous to all and to be her friend was a blessing. Barbara is survived by her husband, O.B., daughter, Kellie Abreu and her husband, Steve Abreu and her granddaughter, Maddie Abreu as well as her son, Stuart Johnson and grandson, Lucas Johnson. She is also survived by her nephew, David Hord, his wife Carla Hord and their children Katherine, Andrew and Charlotte as well as her niece, Barbie Michalides and husband Paul Michaelides. Barbara is predeceased by her parents, Charles and Mildred Hord, as well as her brother, Donnel Hord and sister, Lanell Haxton. The family would like to thank Barbara’s amazing caregivers Eileen, Tina, Tiana and Pita who provided endless care and love to Barbara. Barbara will be laid to rest at Fresno Memorial Garden. The family requests that instead of flowers, remembrances be made to the Bay Area Tumor Institute, Meals on Wheels, San Francisco and Project Glimmer. STAFF WRITERS/ CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Gene Wunderlich Ted Saul Craig Davis Stefani Laszko Nicole Albrecht Julie Ngo Tom Plant Esther Phahla Steve Amante Monique deGroot Andrea Shoup Gloria Wolnick Dr. Drake Levasheff, PhD Mort J. Grabel, Esq. John & Christine Hamby Brian Connors Tristin Collopy Dr. Pat Utnehmer Bonnie Woodrome Haley Munson Criteria for Submitting Articles: 1. Since the publication of articles is an added public relations feature for our advertisers, their articles will be given first priority. Other articles will be published on a space available basis. 2. Articles should be submitted as a Word document file. 3. Articles must be business-oriented and pertain to the author’s area of expertise. A photo of the writer is appropriate. 4. All submissions are subject to editing by the publisher. 5. Send completed articles by e-mail to: publishertvbj@ verizon.net 6. Article and advertising deadlines are the 15th of each month for the next issue. The Valley Business Journal is a California Corporation. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the Publisher is prohibited. The publication is published monthly. The opinions and views expressed in these pages are those of the writer or person interviewed and not necessarily those of The Valley Business Journal. The Valley Business Journal hereby expressly limits its liability resulting from any and all misprints, errors and/or inaccuracies any advertisement or editorial may contain, to the credit of the specific advertising payment and/or the running of a corrected advertisement or editorial correction notice.
April 2021 THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com 7 State and Federal Regulations Have an Impact - In Safety, Assurance and in Cost By Greg Thomas, General Manager, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District It may seem like there is not much to it - you turn on the tap and fresh drinking water flows every time. Providing our customers with a clean, safe and reliable water supply is the hallmark of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD). We often talk about delivery systems for our water - the critical infrastructure and expert employees we invest in to ensure that water is delivered to your home 24/7. However, an additional cost factor that is easily overlooked is the cost of compliance. Whether it is state and federal drinking water regulations, safety regulators or local jurisdictions, EVMWD must comply with many standards as we provide our community with the highest quality water and wastewater services. Federal and State regulators for water, including the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), require water districts to sample and test water for a variety of contaminants that travel in water naturally and are treated at the District before water is ready for the tap. Our water compliance and production teams perform over 19,500 tests each year to ensure we are meeting or exceeding State and Federal standards. EVMWD’s wastewater treatment process is also highly regulated to ensure the water produced is safe to release back into the environment as recycled water used for irrigation and supplementing water into Lake Elsinore. To meet many of these regulations, EVMWD invests in its staff, who must be trained and qualified. All EVMWD staff who work with our water and wastewater systems must maintain current certifications and continuously learn about everchanging federal, state, and local standards. While it is clear these regulations are both necessary and valuable, they do come at a cost. These regulations cost the EVM- WD more than $7.6 million dollars each year, marking water and wastewater compliance as one the District’s most significant expenses. Upholding our critical infrastructure and providing day-to-day maintenance of the water and wastewater systems also requires safe working conditions for our equipment and team. State and local departments regulate vehicles, facilities and working conditions at the District. Whether it’s a small pickup truck used to service residential meters or larger vactor trucks, which maintain large sewer main pipes throughout the system, EVMWD’s fleet of vehicles must also meet state standards set by Air Quality Management District and pay licensing costs to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Certain facilities, such as EVMWD’s Railroad Canyon Dam and Lee Lake Dam, are also held to standards set by the California Department of Safety of Dams. Workplaces are kept safe by meeting Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements. Environmental regulations mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act for projects related to the repair or replacement of water and wastewater infrastructure must also be performed. Combined with the vehicle requirements, these annual costs total over $1 million dollars to ensure safety, licensing and maintenance standards are met. When all compliance-related expenses are totaled, costs are approximately $9.5 million dollars annually. This is about 30 percent of an average customer’s bill. While this is a significant portion of our customer’s bills, it is part of our commitment to deliver safe, reliable water to our customers. The health and safety of our community is the top priority of the District, as well as of state and federal regulators. Each and every compliance measure is designed to protect you – our valuable customer. Through these requirements, you are given a set of important guarantees when it comes to our commitment to service and investments. You are guaranteed your tap water meets some of the strictest water standards in the nation. You can rest assured that EVMWD closely observes all the guidelines and requirements to meet and exceed the expectations that are required as part of our commitment to great customer service. And with each measure towards compliance EVMWD takes, you can be confident that you are receiving reliable, high quality drinking water straight from your tap.
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