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Ask Javi

As a public servant, we must be transparent and open to all people.  Ask Javi is my first step for voters and all people to better know me. 

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Frequently Asked Questions

Motivation and Positions

1. Why Are you running for Water Board?

I am getting involved in the political process to serve the public.  My obligation to the voter will be to inform policy that provides water to everyone which is safe and affordable, while not compromising our future with short-sighted and uninformed decisions. Many people mistakenly believe that this is a full-time paying position.  It is not. The water board seat provides opportunity to serve the community and provides a stipend.  I will donate all proceedings from the water board stipend to a local nonprofit(s) dealing with water issues. 

2. What is you position(s) on our current water crisis?

  • We need to conserve water and seek new technologies to better increase the current supply of water, while maintaining water quality and affordability. We should not endanger our environment since we have an interdependent and sensitive ecosystem. 

  • We also need to monitor and measure our production of water and its use.  If can’t measure it, we cannot improve it.  Currently, we do not have the proper measurements of water usage regionwide. We must monitor our water usage and production to make informed decisions. 

  • We must employ a more transparent process in our water policy and inform and involve all consumers.  Our water crisis impacts everyone.   I will lead efforts to better outreach all our communities including our minority and non-English speaking communities.

3. What is your position on the Bonanza Study of the Cadiz Water Mining Project?

I do not support the Bonanza Study of the Cadiz Mining Project.  The project creates new problems with short-sighted solutions.  We need long-term solutions and a transparent process.

4. What can we do better?

Water policy boards need to explore and measure both our in-door and out-door water usage of consumers.  Both require different methods and approaches to conserve and incentivize implementation. There are existing government programs that provide effective appliance incentives and turf reduction initiatives.  Indeed, there are many water conservation programs already in place, but many people do not know about them.  We also need new programs like one that  measures our water usage like a thermostat in our homes that tell us our water consumption in gallons.  If can’t measure it, we cannot improve it.  Again, I will lead efforts to better outreach all our communities including minority and non-English speaking communities.

5. What qualifications do you bring?

I am a Regional Planner with over 25 years of experience in land use planning (including natural resources), transportation planning, community development, and environmental justice.  Indeed, I have written several practical government plans across different parts of New England, the East Coast, the American South, California, and Puerto Rico.  I also possess advanced technical skills that utilize various types of mapping techniques, computer models, and advanced socioeconomic analyses. My work with public agencies, non-profit organizations, and community groups have provided me with in-depth understanding of the public participation process and its importance.  Essentially, I employ data and science to make informed decision not “politics.”  As important, I can interpret this “nerd-speak” into plain English and Spanish to any audience: technocrats, students, and the general public.

6. How do you think that you can make a difference?

Extreme weather events are happening with more frequency and severity, so the methods of the past are less relevant and effective for today’s challenges.  We need to conserve more water and seek new technologies to increase our supply of water while maintaining water quality and affordability.  We also need more transparency of the actions of Three Valley, while informing our constituents of our progress in easy formats that people understand. 

7. How do we better involve the public?

We need to inform the public of our critical situation in a language that is easily understandable to everyone. In addition, we must be more transparent to earn the trust and confidence of all voters and consumers.

8. If you are elected to the board, what would your top three priorities be and what actions would you take to make them a reality?

My mission is to improve the quality of water for all people while being respectful to all life.  To get there, we must do the following:

•             We need to conserve water and seek new technologies to better increase the current supply of water, while maintaining water quality and affordability. We should not endanger our environment since we have an interdependent and sensitive ecosystem.

•             We also need to monitor and measure our production of water and its use.  If can’t measure it, we cannot improve it.  Currently, we do not have the proper measurements of water usage regionwide. We must monitor our water usage and production to make informed decisions.

•             We must employ a more transparent process in our water policy and inform and involve all consumers.  Our water crisis impacts everyone.   I will lead efforts to better outreach all our communities including our minority and non-English speaking communities.

Earth

9. What role would you play in advocating for social justice on the board, protecting low-income rate payers and guaranteeing high water quality for all? Be sure to cite examples of past social justice advocacy on your part.

I am advocating for affordability and safe drinking water for all people while being respectful to all life.  We need more transparency in our governance while informing our constituents of our progress in formats that people easily understand.  Indeed, water is becoming a scarcer resource that is essential to life, so we must work collaboratively with all stakeholders through a transparent and thoughtful process to establish trust so that we move forward effectively.  All of us must be good stewards of this precious resource that gives us life.

I will lead efforts to better outreach all our communities including minority and non-English speaking communities.  Environmental justice is what has driven my passion to be regional planner and a candidate in this race.  I have written plans that include environment justice including a section on the Regional Transportation Plan that examines how climate change impacts our society’s most vulnerable: children, seniors, low-come, minority, and disable communities.  Basically, these are folks with fixed income that are vulnerable to “shocks” (major events, like wildfire, floods, earthquakes, and so forth) and stressors (chronic challenges, like food/water shortages, poor air quality, and so forth).  I communicate study findings to all folks in plain English and Spanish. 

 

My community involvement primarily involves education and equity in disadvantaged communities. I have served as a URISA GISCorps volunteer teaching GIS and planning skills to children in low-income communities in Los Angeles County. I have been a participated in citizenship and voter registration drives. In addition, I have taught English language skills to Latino immigrants at my church. On behalf of place of work, I have taught over 1,000 students on technical mapping and analyses,  and planning skills that include the geographic approach to solving problems. In addition, I disseminated nearly 50 computers with mapping software and data to primarily disadvantaged jurisdictions throughout the Southern California region. These efforts over the years have improved people’s human capital by upskilling them and have helped launch careers and led to better jobs.  It has also created a snowball effect where the public employees were better able to serve their constituents. 

10. How can we reduce the use of imported water and still meet current and future demand? 

We must push forward with Pure Water Southern California.  It is a Regional Advanced Treated Recycled Water partnership between Los Angeles County Sanitation District and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  It will produce 150 million gallons of water per day serving 15 percent of Los Angeles County.  If the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power would do the same, it would produce another 150 million gallons per serving another 15 percent of the population.  Currently, this water is released into the ocean.  The solution would produce a stable water source to our populace making us more self-reliant.

11. Do you support or oppose the direct reuse of recycled water for potable use. Explain your position.

I support the direct use of recycled water.  In fact, recycled water goes through the same process as the natural process (of hundreds and thousands of years).  Today, we employ technology that speeds the process to less than one day.  We must overcome the “yuck factor” by educating the public; since it provides a stable source of water that will make use more sustainable .  Note that astronauts do not travel into space with enough water to survive; hence, they must recycle their water.  Buzz Aldrin is 92 years old and still around. 

12. Do you support or oppose the Delta Conveyance? Explain your position. (question 19 is related)

I support the Delta Conveyance.  We need multiple solutions to solve our water crisis.  Climate change has made our seasons drier and hotter and with drought. Severe drought are more common place.   Not building the Delta Conveyance places all consumers at risk, especially those with fixed and low incomes.  High costs from further supply will punish and squeeze seniors, minorities, and poor folks’ livelihood; since, everyone needs water to consume, cook, bathe, clean, and so forth. Indeed, there will also be indirect impact to all consumers, because water is a basic input to just about any products,, groceries, construction, and so for.  It will have major impacts as increased gasoline prices have done to all our communities.  Conservation, water recycling, and administrative correction will not be enough on their own to get us out of our water crisis.

13. Do you support or oppose ocean desalination? Please explain why. How do you think ocean desalination compares to using recycled water? 

Recycling water is great and desirable measure; however, ocean desalination also needs to be considered.  Today, it is expensive and produce by-product with too much salt (brine), yet I believe that we are innovative enough figure out how to put this salt back to nature without being harmful to it; since came from nature.  If you could send people to the moon, and into space and can explore Mars; we can find a more viable way for desalination.  It would need to be good enough for crops; since, agriculture is a major consumer of water.  Agriculture is essential for our survival and our economy in California.

14. Do you support or oppose the Cadiz water project? Explain your position.

I do not support the Bonanza Study of the Cadiz Mining Project.  The project creates new problems with short-sighted solutions.  We need long-term solutions and a transparent process which are not apparent with the current elected board at Three Valleys MWD. 

15. What are your ties to the communities that are served by the Three Valleys Municipal Water District, specifically La Verne and Claremont? 

I am a resident of Claremont.  I am getting involved in the political process to serve the public.  My obligation to the voter will be to inform policy that provides water to everyone which is safe and affordable, while not compromising our future with short-sighted and uninformed decisions. Many people mistakenly believe that this is a full-time paying position.  It is not. The water board seat provides opportunity to serve the community and provides a stipend.  I will donate all proceedings from the water board stipend to a local nonprofit(s) dealing with water issues.

16. What is being done, not talking about but actually being done, about taking less water from the Colorado river.  Any word about possibly diverting some of the water from the Mississippi or Missouri rivers?  I have heard that it is possible but costly.

(From a concerned citizen by email) 

Diverting water from the Mississippi and Missouri river will likely be cost prohibitive and pose many risks factors like vulnerability to earthquakes and infringement to property owners.  

 

Desalination of our water (from a recycled source) is a more viable option. Desalination plants are long-term solutions that we must employ and I fully support.  Currently, the Metropolitan Water District and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts are piloting "Pure Water Southern California."  At the Carson plant, water traditionally too salty to reuse will be treated to produce clean filtered water. This water is less salty than sea water, so it requires far less energy and is economically feasible.  The project benefit  would:


It would produce 150 million gallons of water per day

  1. -this is enough water for 1.5 million people of 15% of LA County's population

  2. It would drought proof and stable source

  3. -A stable water that is not dependent on imported water from other areas which is expensive and limited

  4. 3.Less a risk factor of a major earthquake or disasters;

  5. -All these proposed facilities would be on the west side of the San Andreas Fault, so these facilities are more likely to remain in service after a major earthquake while both imported water supplies cross this major fault.

 

THIS OPTION is still not a given; hence, I will need your support and vote to make it a reality.  Water is Life! Our lives depend on it and we need solutions and not politics to get us out of this water crisis before it worsens. 

17. (Same concerned citizen) You are relying on electricity and look at today.  I was for desalination but I am concerned about the brine created by the process.    With desalinization what do you do with the brine created?  Dump it into the ocean and create another problem?   I get it that you need to be concerned about earthquakes but look at our aqueduct system in California.  I don't recall ever hearing any issues with that and we have earthquakes in California.   I know it is not an easy fix and maybe there needs to be a combination of many alternatives but we had an idea the last 10 years that we would eventually have water issues.  As a citizen I see our government asking us to conserve and don't hear about any long term solutions.  I'm just a frustrated citizen.  So what do we do with the brine created and how are we going to get more electricity?

You have a great point about energy.  However, today we use energy created from methane and CO2 to power reclamation plants in Los Angeles County.  Hence, there is little reliance on Edison energy.  In regard to the salt water, it is recycled water which has less salt than the ocean's.  We the benefit of less energy used, less negative outputs, and a stable water supply.  In short, this is a long-term solution that we must employ.  It is self reliance with less burden of electric grid and eventually benefits all consumers like you and me. 

18. (Same concerned citizen) I guess there are many ways to solve a problem, but they all have an issue or two.  I still have concerns about power demand and the brine the desalination plants create.   It would be nice if there was a big  "picture" on what we need to do based on climate change, environment, and population.  I feel that our legislators don't have this or can't come to any consensus based on what I read.   It would be nice if there was a "road map" into the future on what we REALLY should be doing rather than just some band aid proposals.  I'm the kind if guy that wants to do it right the first time and then move on.  As expensive as it can be the first time it is always cheaper to do it right once than to go back and do fixes over time. 

I really enjoy your insightful questions.  You are provoking new thought from me.  I enjoy this a lot!  California is the largest agricultural state in the US, and this has helped us become the 5th or 6th largest economy in the world.  You are correct about engineering challenges; however, if we build it, we must maintain it and eventually replace it.   We could eventually refine the salt enough that it could go back into the environment, since it came from the environment.  You are on point that we (humans) are smart enough to go to the moon or Mars, so then could refine our water enough to water our crops.

19. If you believe in Climate Change why do you support the Delta Conveyance project?

The Delta Conveyance project was scaled back to one tunnel.  It is essentially a major upgrade in infrastructure that has not happened in over 50 years.  It would be built in already disturbed lands.  It provides a solution to better capture water and not let go to the ocean.  This water is precious because it does not have salt and it easier to process which is less expensive and has less residuals that we do not need to dispose of.  A warmer planet and less precipitation no longer give us the luxury of the Sierra Nevada to serve as our greatest reservoir.  We must adapt to our new reality.

 

We must build the Delta Conveyance project, because we need multiple solutions to solve our water crisis.  Not building the Delta Conveyance places all consumers at risk, especially those with fixed and low incomes.  High costs from further reduce our supply will punish and squeeze seniors, students, minorities, and poor folks’ livelihood; since, everyone needs water to consume, cook, bathe, clean, and so forth. Indeed, there will also be indirect impact to all consumers, because water is a basic input to just about any products, groceries, construction, and so for.  It will have major impacts as increased gasoline prices have done to all our communities.  Conservation, water recycling, and administrative correction will not be enough on their own to get us out of our water crisis. 

20. What is the Current TVWD Board of Directors Salary and Benefits?

I am donating all the proceeding from the water board to a non-profit organization to deal with water issues.  Based on feedback from over, I will use these funds on consumer outreach and education to all our communities.  I posted on my website on the onset of our campaign.   Please refer to question 1, Ask Javi | Javiforwater.  If want to know what the incumbent gets refer to the Policy Manual section 2.7 Policy Manual 2021 (threevalleys.com).

21. What % of TVWD source water is CRW ?

hree Valley MW gets 0% of its imported water from the Colorado River.  It is not likely that our water district will in the future, because the process will cause our operation staff to back pump from the Weymouth plant (expensive) and the source already limited.  Hence, it is amazing to me that the other candidates avoid State Wate Project infrastructure upgrade, Delata conveyance. 

22. What % of TVWD source water is SPW?

Three Valleys gets 100% of its imported water from the State Water Project.  It is also disappointing that both candidates avoid the Delta Conveyance project which is a major infrastructure upgrade of the State Water Project.  Three Valleys MWD receives 100% of its imported water from the SWP and 0% from the Colorado River.  The Delta Conveyance project is a politically charged issue that is irresponsible and dishonest to avoid.  All Californians must know that it impacts on the environment are disputable.  Scientist, engineers, and planners from the Department Water Resources, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and other back this up with data and science and not spin or rhetoric.     What is undisputable that these politics are preventing solutions and relief that Californian consumers from the Central Valley and Southern California need.  These politics are hurting people with fixed incomes the most.  These folks are seniors on pension, students on budgets, a family member taking time off from work to raise a child or tend to an ill loved one, or folks who are going through hard times (which can be anybody).  Again, I am about solutions not politics. 

23. What % of TVWD source water is ground water?

Three Valleys MWD has 3 ground wells and 1 coming online soon, to total to 4.  The percentage ranges around 10%, depending on the limitations of SWP and conservation mandates.  

24. Please explain what your approach will be, if elected, to address why current residents are being told to stop irrigating while cities are building hundreds of new water-using homes. We cannot sustain hundreds of new water using households when our reservoirs are at historically low levels

I apologize in advanced for a long-winded answer, but you deserve a thorough answer and not a sound bit.  Our water crisis stems from an aging infrastructure, growing population, and climate change.  All are phenomena that have going on for years, but our elected officials (political candidates) have not and continue not to address all three issues appropriately because of politics.  Today, we are in this water crisis because we have kicked the can and not address these issues.  Our current incumbent still believes in the strategy of hoping for rain, mining water which no longer there, and continued sacrifice.  The other candidate moves us to the better direction but does not go far enough, because of politics. 

My approach is employing many solutions are the same time because there is not a silver bullet.  I will start with a long-term vision, long-term solution, short-term solutions, and immediate actions. Again, all need to be employed at the same time.

  1. Long term vision- Ocean desalinization is expense and has problems with brine, today.  However, we need to continue seeking solutions for this.  For example, in 1999, we spent $300 million in map the genome and did not crack it in its entirety. By 2016, we were able to map the genome in its entirety for under $1,000.  If we use, these same incentives and motivations, we could solve the problem with ocean desalinization.  Our solution would good enough to not only take out the enough salt to water crops but become a source for safe and affordable water that is self-reliant from the hope for rain.  In California, we are innovators and can embrace this challenge and transform it into opportunity.  California is hub for innovation.  We export aircraft, movie, and high technology for decades.  Why not water climate technology? It will help us solve our water crisis and bring industry with good jobs and revenue, because the lack of quality and affordable water is a problem around the world. 

 

  1. Long term solutions are Pure Water Southern California and Delta Conveyance.  Both are initial stage in where your feedback is essential.  Pure Water Southern is a partnership between Los Angeles County Sanitation District and Metropolitan Water of Southern California.   These agencies seek to purify wastewater to create potable water, energy, and soils.  The project will produce 1.5 million gallon per day for Los Angeles unincorporated area which 15% of our needed water.  The is a drought proof and self-reliant source of water.  If Los Angeles Department of Water and Power did the same, it would be another 15% of totaling to 30%.  Around the world other country did similar projects.  Israel recycles 90% of its water and Spain 30%.  Delta conveyance is major infrastructure upgrade of the State Water Project which has not happening over 50 years.  This project will make our current water infrastructure seismically sounds, employ mechanism to better counter sea level, improve structures to capture millions of gallons of rain which goes into the ocean.  Climate change is causing fewer but more intense storm that need to be adjusted to.  Three Valleys gets 100% of its imported water from the State Water Project.  It is also disappointing that both candidates avoid the Delta Conveyance project which is a politically charged issue that is irresponsible and dishonest to avoid.  All Californians must know that it impacts on the environment are disputable.  Scientist, engineers, and planners from the Department Water Resources, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and other back this up with data and science and not spin or rhetoric.     What is undisputable that these politics are preventing solutions and relief that Californian consumers from the Central Valley and Southern California need.  These politics are hurting people with fixed incomes the most.  These folks are seniors on pension, students on budgets, a family member taking time off from work to raise a child or tend to an ill loved one, or folks who are going through hard times (which can be anybody).  Again, I am about solutions not politics. 

  2. Short-term and immediate solutions include:

  • Promote Existing Water Conservation and Water Efficiency Programs

    • Turf removal, appliance efficiency, demonstration project

  • Better outreach to our communities

    •  Inform folks what are doing (like Java with Javi, Updated website that show platform, utilizing non-profits to get the message out, and Town halls (demonstrating the importance of water. 

    • What other folks are doing like “purple pipes” and use of storm water infrastructure for water reuse.

  • Resource Recovery; other parts of world and other parts of the country

  • Transparent and modern polices in outreaching, reporting, and decision- making

​To reiterate, there are no silver bullets but only an all hands on deck approach not only to correct our water crisis but to transform it into an opportunity in the long term.  It will take leadership, courage, and perseverance. I am the only candidate with these characteristics since, I do not avoid tough issues and the only one to bring these ideas front and center. 

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