Commentary: Water district has made historic move

As a past member of the Laguna Beach County Water District board, I am thrilled that — for the first time in 68 years — our district will no longer be 100% reliant on imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California. This is huge! (“New water deal cuts district’s imports,” Feb. 5.)

I have known Renae Hinchey since I was on the Laguna Beach Planning Commission — before my 12 years on the City Council — and I know that for her 16 years as the district’s general manager, she has fought to reestablish the district’s water rights to local groundwater that it once pumped from Huntington Beach during the 1930s and ‘40s.

After many years and several attempts, she was finally able to reach an historic agreement with the Orange County Water District to ensure that close to two-thirds of our water supply is provided locally. This is really monumental for Laguna and means that we now will have a reliable, sustainable supply of water. Instead of five days of water storage in the event of an emergency, we will now have more than a three-month supply of water to get us through tough times, if necessary.

Water is a precious resource, and I’d like to congratulate Hinchey and her staff for the many years of persistence in their efforts to secure a dependable, long-term water supply for future generations of Lagunans.

Pearson is a former mayor of Laguna Beach and a former governor’s appointee to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. She lives in Laguna Beach.