State- of- the-Art Municipal Water Facility Dedicated

The long-awaited dedication of the new headquarters of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District came months after district staff had moved in and decorated the walls with pictures.

But employees’ excitement about their new state-of-the-art facility was evident last week as they guided visitors on tours of the plant after the ceremony.

The new building dwarfs the old one, which was closed due to damage in the Northridge earthquake.

“The old building needed considerable upgrades, which were made once we got into this structure,” said Arlene Post, spokeswoman for the district.

To ensure that water needs are not disrupted by another disaster, officials said, the 64,000-square-foot, two-story building was designed and built with greater strength than required by current earthquake codes.

“If there is another earthquake, I want to be right here,” said Gene Talmadge, principal planner and project manager.

The $8-million facility is currently filled to two-thirds capacity, and the district plans to rent out the unused portion to a company until the space is needed for district operations.

The old building, which is only one-third the size of the new, also has been leased after more than $100,000 in reconstruction and renovation.

The new facility “makes more sense in terms of space,” Talmadge said.

It also has a board and community room in the western section over an underground parking garage--amenities the old building lacked.

A central library used by the district staff includes a collection of reports on water conservation and other issues and may eventually be opened to the public for research, officials said.

District officials came under fire last year from customers who complained about the cost of the building in the wake of a water rate increase. But officials defended their action, saying the need for space is anticipated to accommodate a growing staff to serve the developing area.

“We thought the growth would be such that we would be in this whole space by now,” Post said.

“The growth slowed, but we think eventually our operations will take up the whole building.”