Mark Bulot Runs for Re-Election to SBVMWD Division 4

Incumbent Mark Bulot is running for re-election to the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD) Division 4 seat, he said to “contribute to the benefit of the community.” Bulot said his “expertise in water resources management” and “experience with policy-making boards” including the Riverside County Hazardous Materials Citizen’s Advisory Commission and the Redlands Solid Waste Task Force influenced his decision to run for the Division 4 seat before being elected in 1999, Bulot explained. Bulot has 39 years experience as a consultant in water resource management; 16 years serving as the director for the SBVMWD and is currently the board’s vice president; 10 years experience as a commissioner of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA); and is a California-certified hydrogeologist, graduating from the University of Redlands with a bachelor’s degree in geology. “I have spent the last 16 years on the board cultivating trust and close working relationships with area water managers,” Bulot said. “I… intend on continuing a close working relationship with all agencies with which the SBVMWD has had business.” When Bulot joined the SBVMWD board in 1999, he said “there was a general feeling of mistrust from the local water retailers” toward the water district, and cooperation between agencies and the water district was strained. “By insisting upon cooperation, and refusing to tolerate the continuation of actions that were not in the best interest of all agencies within the District, we gradually built the trust and cooperation that we have today,” Bulot said. Today, Bulot said he felt the district’s cooperative groundwater recharge program, or the subsidization of imported water by area water retailers for groundwater recharge, was “a grand success.” “I will continue to support this cooperative forum where water management decisions are made with consideration of all entities concerned,” said Bulot. Bulot hopes to continue enhancing water resources through projects for additional storm water capture and completing State Water Project facilities to enhance the reliability of the District’s contracted water supply, projects Bulot said “will enhance the water supply for all the District’s residents.” Bulot runs against opponent Janel Perez for the seat.