Christen's Priorities
A Practical Plan for Our Water Future
Water decisions affect household budgets, local businesses, future growth, and the long-term resilience of our communities. Christen's approach starts with a simple principle: protect ratepayers today while making responsible investments for tomorrow.
The approach
Responsible Water Leadership Starts With Accountability
The Western Municipal Water District manages an essential public resource. Christen believes every major decision should be evaluated through three questions:
Affordability
How will this affect ratepayers?
Reliability
Will this strengthen our water supply and infrastructure?
Accountability
Is the decision transparent, responsible, and focused on long-term value?
01
Ratepayer protection
Protect Ratepayers & Keep Water Affordable
Water is an essential public resource, not a luxury. Rising utility costs place real pressure on working families, seniors, and small businesses, which is why affordability and transparency must be central to every major Water Board decision.
Transparent Rate Decisions
Ratepayers should clearly understand why rates are changing, where their money is going, and what alternatives were considered before increases are approved.
Responsible Budgeting
Major spending decisions should be evaluated for long-term value, operational necessity, and their impact on household budgets.
Pursue Outside Funding
The district should aggressively pursue available state and federal infrastructure funding so critical improvements do not fall entirely on local ratepayers.
Affordability Programs
Christen supports practical programs that help qualifying households manage essential water costs while maintaining a safe and reliable system.
02
Water reliability
Build a Reliable Local Water Supply
Southern California's water future depends on becoming more resilient and less vulnerable to expensive imported supplies. Christen supports a diversified strategy that develops more reliable local resources while planning for drought and future growth.
Water Recycling
Expand responsible use of recycled water for appropriate non-drinking purposes such as irrigation, landscaping, parks, and other compatible uses.
Stormwater Capture
Capture more rainfall when it arrives and use it to help replenish local groundwater rather than allowing valuable water to leave the region.
Groundwater Recharge & Local Supply
Support investments that strengthen local groundwater resources and improve the district's long-term supply portfolio.
Storage & Drought Preparedness
Plan ahead so the district has greater resilience during prolonged drought, extreme heat, and supply disruptions.
Imported Water Dependence
Reducing unnecessary dependence on increasingly expensive imported water can help strengthen local reliability and provide more control over long-term costs.
03
Responsible infrastructure
Modernize & Protect Our Infrastructure
Reliable service depends on infrastructure most people rarely see—pipelines, pumps, treatment facilities, storage systems, and other critical assets. Waiting until systems fail is often the most expensive way to manage them.
Preventative Maintenance
Support long-term maintenance and rehabilitation planning before aging systems become emergencies.
Smart Capital Planning
Prioritize infrastructure investments based on safety, reliability, condition, and long-term value.
Resilient Facilities
Prepare critical water facilities for drought, extreme heat, power disruptions, wildfire conditions, and other emergencies.
Transparency on Major Projects
Ratepayers deserve clear information about major capital projects, timelines, costs, and why those investments are necessary.
04
Practical conservation
Conserve Water Without Burdening Families
Conservation works best when people have practical tools and incentives—not when families are simply told to do more with less.
Rebates & Incentives
Support useful conservation programs that help households and businesses reduce water use and lower long-term costs.
Efficient Irrigation
Encourage technologies and practices that help landscaping, local agriculture, and other outdoor users apply water more efficiently.
Drought-Resilient Landscaping
Help residents transition toward landscapes suited to Inland Southern California's climate without treating conservation as one-size-fits-all.
Recycled Water
Expand recycled water where appropriate so high-quality drinking water is preserved for uses that truly require it.
Agriculture
Christen's work in local agriculture gives her firsthand appreciation for balancing conservation with the realities facing growers, small farms, and working families.
05
Local economic opportunity
Create Good Local Jobs Through Public Investment
Christen advocates for strong workplace safety, local career pathways, and industry-certified apprenticeships that build a highly skilled workforce. Through strategic partnerships with local labor and business leaders, Christen is committed to protecting good-paying, family-sustaining jobs and driving economic growth right here in the Inland Empire.
High Workforce Standards
Support strong skilled, safety, training, and workforce standards on major public infrastructure projects.
Local Career Pathways
Build stronger connections between water infrastructure needs, local workers, apprenticeship programs, and regional educational institutions.
Skilled Apprenticeships
Support pathways that allow local residents to learn specialized trades while earning and building long-term careers.
Responsible Public Investment
Public dollars should deliver reliable infrastructure and real community benefit. Christen will work with local labor and business leaders on high safety and training standards, including Project Labor Agreements where they help keep skilled work and good jobs in the Inland Empire.
Across every priority
Transparency & Community Accountability
Christen believes Water Board decisions should be understandable and accessible to the people they affect.
Plain-Language Information
Make budgets, rate decisions, and major projects easier for the public to understand.
Community Engagement
Create meaningful opportunities for residents to weigh in before major decisions are made.
Accessible Meetings
Support modern tools that make public meetings and information easier to access.
Clear Decision-Making
Explain major votes and the reasoning behind them.
A practical perspective
Water From the Ground Up
Through local agriculture and regional food recovery, Christen has worked directly with the challenges of operating costs, resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainability.
That experience shapes how she approaches water policy: look for solutions that conserve resources, reduce unnecessary costs, and work in the real world.
A Water District That Plans Ahead
Christen's priorities share one goal: build a Western Municipal Water District that protects ratepayers, invests responsibly, strengthens local water reliability, and prepares Division 2 for the challenges ahead.
- Affordable
- Reliable
- Resilient
- Sustainable
- Accountable
Join Team Christen
Help Build a More Reliable Water Future
Join the campaign to bring practical, transparent, and community-focused leadership to the Western Municipal Water District, Division 2.