Monthly News & Updates

April 2023 | Issue 24

OC Hits 130 million Gallons of Re-cycled Water per Day

This month the Ground Water Replenishment System (GWRS), a partnership between the Orange County Water District (OCWD) and Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) completed the final phase of their plans to recycle 130 million gallons a day of wastewater into drinking water. GWRS uses the best-known technologies to clean and purify wastewater collected by OCSD. The purified water is then piped to settling basins to percolate into the ground to be able to re-charge the underground aquifers that cover most of Northern and Central Orange County. This underground water is then pumped back out for use by County residents. With Southern California suffering through on again and off again water supply and drought problems, recycled water becomes a resource that cannot be overlooked as a reliable source of potable water.

NP Consultants had the opportunity to have a short interview with the Chairman of Orange County Sanitation District Board of Directors and the Groundwater Replenishment System Chair the Hon. Chad Wanke.

NP Consultants (NPC): “Chairman Wanke, thank you for taking the time to talk with us today.”

Chairman Wanke (CW): “No problem.”

NPC: “How do you see your responsibilities as Chair of OCSD and GWRS?”

CW: “I see my role as managing our OCSD Board Members and GWRS Steering Committee Members, and in developing appropriate agendas for these groups. To ensure that the needs of the member agencies are taken into consideration.”

NPC: “GWRS is a joint Committee consisting of elected members from both OCSD and OCWD Boards of Directors, is that Committee difficult with two separate agencies trying to operate together?”

CW: “I think the GWRS Committee is a perfect example of how two public agencies can work together to get things done. This week we celebrated GWRS recycling 130 million gallons per day. This shows that when agencies put away turf wars and cooperate, that a lot can be accomplished. I think GWRS can be a good example for other agencies on how they can get things done.”

NPC: “What are you most proud of during your tenure with OCSD and GWRS?”

CW: “For OCSD it’s that we have been able to, with the expansion of GWRS, have 100% of our wastewater reclaimed and recycled. I am also proud that we are the world’s largest water recycler, and that OCSD is a very well managed agency with reasonable rates. With GWRS it’s being able to recycle 130 million gallons a day of water. It shows how well both agencies have worked together to have full wastewater reclamation, which is a remarkable achievement over these years with changing Committee Members and Board Members.”

NPC: “What’s Next?”

CW: “we are currently working on reducing bio-solids, and also looking at how we handle food waste. We are currently in testing with the Super Critical Water Oxidation Process which will eliminate PFAS and other contaminates which we just received a federal grant for $3.5 million initiated by Congressman Lou Correa.”

NPC: “Thank you for your time, Chairman Wanke.”

CW: “Thank you.”

For more information check out:

https://ocwd.com/gwrs/

https://ocsan.gov

Are Your Elected Officials and Key Staff Safe?

As the political divisiveness gets worse coming up in this next election cycle it may be a wise idea to audit your city or school districts safety procedures and practices for your elected officials and key staff members. I bring this up as one of our staff members witnessed a near brawl from two opposing sides at a recent school board meeting. There have also been over the past couple of years escalating violence in city or school board chambers. In Daly City in 2022 one City Council Member accused another of assaulting them. In another instance in Darlington City a City Council Member was accused of hitting a City Manager. There have been instances where aggression toward elected officials by the public has also escalated. There are also safety issues outside City Hall and the School Board Chambers such as when the Laguna Beach City Manager had his home vandalized in February of this year.

Obviously, this is not a problem with easy solutions. Do you just protect on city or school grounds or do you protect elected officials and key staff off site as well. Most public agencies usually have some security at their city council or school board meetings these days. Most have either some form of police or security presence. Some public agencies have very little security. Looking at onsite meeting security in case of an emergency caused by a member of the public is the most common approach. Consulting with your local Police Department or Sheriff’s Department to help with an onsite security audit would be beneficial. Those agencies are usually very helpful and can give you options on how to protect city and school officials. Dealing with violence between elected officials and staff gets far more complicated. Your local law enforcement agencies may have some suggestions on that as well. Looking at your overall security processes and procedures will help ensure a safe experience for all involved in the local government process.

Schools: OC Board of Education Backs Parent Gender Notification Bill

In the last OC Board of Education Meeting on April 12^th, the OC Board of Education unanimously voted to support State Legislature Bill AB1314. The bill calls for schoolteachers, counselors and employees to notify parents in writing three days from becoming aware that their pupil is identifying as a gender not on the pupil’s birth certificate or other official records of that pupil. This also is applied to any other sports or sex segregated activities. The item was brought to the OC Board of Ed by Trustee Tim Shaw, who stated that’ “I am in support of Parents Rights and believe that AB1314 is a common-sense bill that would keep parents informed of their child’s activities at school.”

The bill itself was stopped in Committee but looks like it may be coming back as a two-year bill.

To learn more:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1314

President’s Corner

In this age of media assault on our senses, from our computer, TV and phone it has become more important than ever for public agencies to engage with their audiences. This may seem like a basic premise, but it is not often done. Far too much public agency communication with their residents, rate payers, school parents, voters are informational only without trying to engage with their audience in the way that gets and keeps the audience's attention. Many public agencies and public affairs firms do a really good job of getting information out to audiences via press releases, direct mail, social media and video. The problem is not necessarily the volume of information, but does your message engage your audience. Does your message stick. This needs to be assessed, and seldom is with public agencies. Audience engagement is important in these increasingly noisy and politically divisive times. Getting your message to stick with your audience through the noise takes a special know how.

That is where NP Consultants can help. We specialize in engaging and assessing your messaging with your targeted audiences. What sets us apart is that we have business-to-business experience at engaging clients and customers for products and services. So, our engagement is done in competitive circumstances where we have honed our skills in engagement messaging to use for public agencies like yours. Take advantage of our expertise and get your messaging to stick with your audience.

Give us a call. Let’s engage.

John Nielsen

President

714-389-4095

Cities: Governor Newsom Seems to back “Builder’s Remedy” and Singles Out Huntington Beach

Governor Gavin Newsom is ratcheting up the pressure to have a valid and certified Housing Element from Huntington Beach, the City Council has voted it down twice. Governor Newsom said in a statement,” Huntington Beach continues to fail its residents. Every city and county needs to do their part to bring down the high housing and rent costs that are impacting families across the state. California will continue taking every step necessary to ensure everyone is building their fair share of housing and not flouting state housing laws at the expense of the community.”

The Council majority in Huntington Beach have taken positions and policies contrary to state mandates such as the “Builder’s Remedy” where if a Housing Element is not certified by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), then developers can build bypassing city requirements as long as the development contains 20% affordable housing. Huntington Beach City Mayor Tony Strickland stated “People don’t want an urban community here, I believe if we just went along, it will have a severe negative impact on our community’s quality of life.”

The State then announced through State Attorney General Rob Bonta on April 10th that the state was amending the lawsuit against Huntington Beach by adding the city’s refusal to adopt a Housing Element. Several suits ongoing now between the State and Huntington Beach in both Federal and State Courts. We will keep you apprised as things progress.

About NP Consultants

NP Consultants is a Public Affairs, Public Outreach, Lobbying and Trouble Shooting agency working with public agencies. Our agency has been established doing business in this field for 10 years. We have a staff of dedicated and experienced team members to help with any need of our clients like you. We are different due to our marketing and business experience, that sets us apart. All of our messaging is designed to inform and persuade for you. As opposed to others we take our marketing experience in the highly competitive business world and apply it for our public agency clients. We are on the cutting edge of communications technology and methodology. Give us a call and pick our brains. We would Love to hear from you! Check out our website at:

www.NP-Consultants.com

call 714-389-4095

email me: Jnielsen@np-consultants.com

Monthly News & Updates

Are Your Elected Officials and Key Staff Safe?﻿

President’s Corner

Cities: Governor Newsom Seems to back “Builder’s Remedy” and Singles Out Huntington Beach

About NP Consultants

Are Your Elected Officials and Key Staff Safe?