A thanks for 18+ years of ensuring safe water for Desert Hot Springs
Laura Ingalls Wilder once wrote, "The last time always seems sad, but it isn't really. The end of one thing is only the beginning of another."
After serving Desert Hot Springs and the surrounding communities for the last 18+ years, Mission Springs Water District's fearless leader and general manager, Arden Wallum, is retiring next month to travel and spend more time with his lovely wife, Tina.
While some may see this as an end of an era, I see this as a new beginning.
Wallum, whom I have enjoyed working with during my 13 years on the MSWD Board, has transformed Mission Springs Water District into a state leader in the water and wastewater arenas.
He has fought tirelessly for our community, garnering millions of dollars of federal and state grants for initiatives, including the district's Groundwater Quality Protection Program, which has resulted in the elimination of thousands of septic tanks and the construction of the nearly completed Nancy Wright Regional Water Reclamation Facility.
Both of these initiatives protect our groundwater, the only source of drinking water in the Desert Hot Springs area. Located in the Indian/I-10 corridor of Desert Hot Springs, the Wright Facility will allow MSWD to continue moving customers off septic and double the size of our service area. This will serve as an economic engine for future growth, paving the way for new businesses and much-needed jobs in our region.
Aside from the projects he has led, Wallum has made it his mission to educate and empower our community with the knowledge and understanding of the district’s function and its role in their lives. His "Water 101" program has been presented dozens of times for state, county and city officials and members of the public, and he has helped organize numerous programs and events for the district's customers to provide an understanding of how the district's water and wastewater systems work and are managed.
This and many of the projects and initiatives he has spearheaded in his career will live on well after he and his successors are all gone.
Wallum will be leaving some big shoes to fill. I have witnessed a great change in the organization during the last 18 months, and I am confident that Wallum's successor, Assistant General Manager Brian Macy, is up to the task of leading MSWD.
Macy has over 30 years of engineering and water district management experience and is well-suited to take over where Wallum has left off. He served as the general manager of Indio Water Authority from September 2013 through November 2018, and he also served as the assistant general manager at Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District before joining MSWD in 2019.
He, along with a dedicated management team and committed staff, will soon be tasked with implementing a new strategic master plan that our board of directors is currently developing.
Good strategic planning is not only board and staff guided but also includes invaluable public input. I hope all of our customers take the time to participate in the planning process so that we can have a plan that is as diverse as the community we serve.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the unwavering dedication to our local community that Wallum and those that have served before him have shown in the 70 years of MSWD's existence.
So, I encourage you all to lift a glass of our award-winning water and toast to new beginnings and the legacy of a great leader.
Russ Martin is the board president of Mission Springs Water District. He can be reached at board@mswd.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: A thanks for 18+ years of ensuring safe water for Desert Hot Springs
