‘Friant North’ Water Group Names David Orth As Executive Officer, Organizes Joint Powers Authority

Aug 04, 2015 No Comments by

A recently-organized San Joaquin Valley water agency has a new name and organizational structure along with its first executive officer. Well known California water leader David L. Orth has been named to head the newly-renamed North Friant Authority.

Orth’s appointment was announced Monday (August 3) as representatives of four participating water districts acted to formally organize as a public joint powers agency. Those districts include the Fresno Irrigation District, Madera Irrigation District, Chowchilla Water District and Gravelly Ford Water District. In June, the four districts formed what was initially called the Friant North Alliance. The districts are Central Valley Project-Friant Division contractors that deliver San Joaquin River water to portions of Madera, Fresno and Merced counties.

Orth, a Fresno County resident who is a member of the California Water Commission, recently resigned after 13 years as Kings River Conservation District general manager, citing a desire to pursue other opportunities. His appointment by the new Authority is as an independent contractor and will become effective August 17, 2015.

He became KRCD’s general manager in February 2002. Before coming to KRCD, Orth served for two years as Vice President of Resource Management for Woolf Enterprises, a diversified San Joaquin Valley farming operation and from 1995-2000 as general manager of Westlands Water District, a CVP contractor. Prior to becoming Westland’s manager, Orth served as the district’s director of finance for nine years. Previously, he was a deputy Fresno County treasurer.

Orth has served on the California Water Commission since 2013. At KRCD, Orth has been involved in development of sustainable policies for local groundwater management and water quality protection. Orth was among the first to be involved in integrated water system management planning in the Kings River service area and was a founder of the Kings Basin Water Authority, which he has served as secretary-treasurer. Most recently, Orth has become involved deeply in how the Kings River region intends to implement California’s new Groundwater Sustainability Act. He has also been active in the electrical energy arena. In his work for Westlands, Orth was engaged in Bay-Delta issues, and participated actively in the CalFed Bay-Delta Program.

In 2015, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented Orth with its annual Excellence in Water Leadership Award in recognition of remarkable contributions to California water by supporting and advancing ACWA’s goals. Orth received ACWA’s Emissary Award in 2010.  He has served on the board of the Association of California Water Agencies as Region 6 chair and has chaired several other ACWA committees during his career. Orth serves on Fresno County’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act Stakeholder Group.  A native of Porterville, Orth has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from California State University, Fresno.

The Friant North Authority has been established by four of the northernmost Friant Division districts for mutual water supply development and to deal with federal and state governments on water and environmental issues.

Kole Upton, a Chowchilla Water District board member and Chairman of the new organization, said when the preliminary organization was taking place two months ago, “It’s something we in the northern portion of the Friant Division have needed to do for a long time. We have a lot of potential for water sharing for our constituents and, on the policy side, we have a lot in common.”

The new Authority is fully separate and apart from the Friant Water Authority (FWA). The Madera and Fresno Irrigation Districts ended their FWA memberships earlier this year. Chowchilla Water District withdrew several years ago. Gravelly Ford has not previously been a FWA member. All four agencies hold Class 1, Class 2 or both Class 1 and 2 water contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for water stored in Millerton Lake. The North Friant Authority plans to actively engage in current and ongoing common interests, activities and issues. Those include dealings with Reclamation, the Interior Department agency that oversees the CVP. The new Authority also intends to interact with the FWA, other Friant Division contractors, the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors and the San Joaquin River Restoration Program.

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