LAS FLORES, Calif. (Jan. 27, 2009) – Dr. Betty Olson, a longtime Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD) Board member, was recently appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the Western States Water Council, an organization designed to advance the cooperation of regional water resource management and conservation policies of 18 western states.

Dr. Olson was appointed by the Governor in November 2008, and must be confirmed by the California State Senate. Confirmation hearings are expected within the next 30 days. If confirmed, Dr. Olson will be the first person from South Orange County to serve on the Council.

“This appointment is an opportunity to use my decades of water service in Orange County to advance sound water policies on a regional scale,” said Dr. Olson. “I am honored to have the confidence of Governor Schwarzenegger.”

The Western States Water Council was established in 1965 to foster cooperation among western states in the conservation, management and development of water resources. The Council also helps facilitate ongoing cooperation between member states to address the changing and increasing demands on limited water resources. California currently has six members serving on the Council. In addition to Dr. Olson, California’s members include:

• The Honorable Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (Ex-Officio member)
• Lester Snow, Director, California Dept. of Water Resources (Executive Committee Member)
• Jeanine Jones, P.E., California Dept. of Water Resources
• Darlene Ruiz, Hunter & Ruiz Consulting
• Thomas S. Maddox, P.E., Consulting Engineer

States participating on the Council include: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. More information can be found on the Council’s Web site at www.westgov.org/wswc.

Olson was appointed to the SMWD Board of Directors in 1994, and has been elected four times since; with the most recent in November 2008. She has served at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for over 30 years, where she is currently a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Henri Samueli School of Engineering. Additionally, she is a founding director at UCI’s Urban Water Research Center, where she continues as an associate director. Dr. Olson lives in Coto de Caza, Orange County, California.

About Santa Margarita Water District
SMWD is Orange County’s second-largest water district, serving a customer base of more than 150,000 residents and businesses in Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto de Caza, Las Flores and inland southern Orange County, including the communities of Ladera Ranch and Talega.

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