By Mary O’KEEFE

There are four people running for three seats on the Crescenta Valley Water District board of directors. They are [as they appear on the ballot] Alec Hyeler, Jeffery W. Johnson – incumbent, Carla D. Dillion and James Bodnar – incumbent. 

CVW reached out to all four candidates. Two of them responded as of press time. Below are those two responses. If the other two candidates respond by press time by next week we will include their comments.

Question No 1: What is your background in regard to the water district?  

Carla Dillion: My background includes more than 30 years of experience across the water sector, including drinking water, wastewater, groundwater and stormwater. I’ve worked in project management, process engineering and regulatory compliance and for the past two decades my roles have been in public sector leadership. Most recently, I served as the director of Engineering & Operations at Crescenta Valley Water District, a position I held until my retirement this past summer.

I hold degrees in engineering and public administration, am licensed as a professional engineer, and maintain certifications in Water Treatment, Water Distribution, and Wastewater Collections.

James Bodnar: My water experience is extensive with a strong foundation in education and certifications. I graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor of Science in engineering and extended the foundation with a Master of Science in environmental engineering from Stanford University.   

With experience,  I earned a professional civil engineer licensure and both a water treatment and distribution operator certification. I started my water experience working on California’s contaminated Federal Superfund Sites. I evaluated groundwater contamination, treatment methods, public health exposures and calculated potential human health risks. My water quality experience is important as Crescenta Valley Water District (CVWD) faces a groundwater challenge with polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, which are organofluorine compounds often used in food packaging, waterproof fabrics, or non-stick cookware).

My most recent work experience extended over 28 years with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California where I helped develop and manage groundwater storage programs and water supply programs. The experience will help in developing partnerships with other water agencies that could strengthen our local water reliability. My experience in both water resources and water operations provides our community with strong leadership and knowledge to better manage our local resources to meet our needs.  

Question No 2: What is the biggest challenge facing CVWD and its customers? 

Carla Dillion: The water sector as a whole is facing significant pressures right now and CVWD is no exception. In simple terms, the District’s major challenges center on sustainability, reliability and affordability – for both water and sewer service. Imported water supplies are becoming less certain. Water levels in the Colorado River system remain low and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation recently released a framework calling for 10% reduction in California’s allocation. At the same time, local groundwater from the Verdugo Basin cannot meet the community’s full demand and contains PFAS and nitrates, which require additional specialized treatment. Like many public agencies, CVWD is also working to catch up on infrastructure maintenance that was deferred in past decades. Replacing it responsibly requires careful planning, prioritization and transparency.

  Many of the District’s costs are driven by outside agencies. For example, CVWD pays to treat sewage at the LA‑Glendale plant, purchases imported water through Metropolitan Water District (MWD) and Foothill Municipal Water District (FMWD) and must absorb rising electricity rates. These external costs ultimately affect customer bills. Balancing reliability, affordability and regulatory/contractual requirements is a complex task for any water district and it will remain a central issue for CVWD and its customers.

James Bodnar: The biggest challenge facing CVWD is the aging infrastructure that requires continued maintenance and replacement. My family moved to La Crescenta in the 1950s. The wells and most pipes that existed then are still working today, but we need to plan for their retirement with an updated system. CVWD could better educate customers on how [their] money is spent. CVWD also needs to listen to the concerns of customers and work to address them.

Question No 3: What issue would you first like to focus on if elected?

Carla Dillion: CVWD is already doing several things well, including prioritizing infrastructure replacement and completing select pipeline projects with in‑house staff. Those efforts should absolutely continue. Beyond that, there are four areas I believe deserve focused attention: beginning treatment for PFAS and nitrates, initiating a study on potential consolidation, preparing shovel‑ready designs for grant opportunities, and addressing long‑standing voting boundary discrepancies.

To start, the Verdugo groundwater basin contains PFAS and nitrates, which are currently managed by blending local groundwater with imported water before delivery to customers. Moving toward direct treatment of these compounds would improve water quality for everyone who relies on CVWD’s supply.

During recent conversations with customers, I’ve learned that many are unaware of how imported water reaches the District. MWD sells water to FMWD, which then sells it to CVWD. Each agency carries its own operational and administrative costs and as inflation has risen so have those overhead expenses. For that reason, I believe CVWD should begin a formal study to evaluate whether consolidation or other structural changes could reduce longterm overhead costs and improve efficiency. These processes take years, so it’s important to begin the discussion now.

Another priority is ensuring the District is ready to compete for outside funding. Grant opportunities often appear with short timelines and having shovel‑ready designs in place would allow CVWD to act quickly when those opportunities arise. 

Finally, I would like to see CVWD work proactively with the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) to resolve the issue of customers who receive District services but are not included within the voting boundaries. Residents who rely on CVWD for their water and/or sewer service should have the ability to participate in selecting the District’s elected leadership.

I can be reached at CD4CVWD@gmail.com or through my website CD4CVWD.com.

James Bodnar: I would like to work on both local and external outreach. CVWD needs to better educate the community on how it’s spending [their] money. As a public agency, CVWD has zero profit. Every cent a customer pays goes into delivering water and sewer service to our community. The money spent needs to be spent wisely. I also would like to work on partnerships with other water agencies that will improve our future water supply reliability and emergency preparedness. I want CVWD to improve its water capabilities to better respond to droughts, water contamination, earthquakes and fires. I take community service seriously and will put forth the effort for our community to have safe and reliable water service.