Laguna Beach : Water Reclamation Pioneer Moves On

When Ray Miller began working for the South Coast Water District, most people didn’t know the difference between xeriscape and xylophone. Water conservation was something done in the Sahara Desert, not Southern California.

In the past 25 years, Miller has seen water become a precious commodity in the minds of the public as well as among water experts. And now, after setting up the district’s first water reclamation and conservation programs, Miller has retired.

As of July 1, Miller moved out of his general manager’s office to open a private consulting firm. He reflected recently on the difficulty of persuading people to conserve and reclaim water.

“It took a lot of cooperation on the part of the community and the board of directors to make it happen,” Miller said. “Reclaimed water has evolved into one-fourth of the total water sold by the district now. Water reclamation is becoming more commonplace, but when we did it, we were one of the first agencies” to use reclaimed water.

The South Coast Water District sells water to about 6,500 customers in South Laguna and portions of Dana Point and Laguna Niguel.

Miller began working for the district in 1967 and moved up to general manager in 1972. Although using reclaimed water didn’t become popular among water districts until recent years, Miller began plans to reuse water after the 1977-78 drought.

Miller plans to remain active in several professional organizations.