Why This Race Matters
Your water bill, the reliability of your local supply, the condition of critical infrastructure, and how our region prepares for drought are shaped by decisions most residents rarely see.
The Western Municipal Water District helps make those decisions.
The everyday impact
Water policy can sound complicated. For most families, the impact is much simpler.
01
Your bill
Water Board decisions influence budgets, infrastructure spending, long-term investments, and the rates residents ultimately pay.
Rate increases should never feel like a mystery. Ratepayers deserve transparency about where their money is going, why costs are changing, and what alternatives were considered.
Bottom line
You deserve to understand your water bill.
02
Your water
Southern California depends on a mix of local and imported water. How much we invest in recycling, groundwater, conservation, storage, and other local resources affects our long-term reliability and costs.
A stronger local water portfolio can help our communities become more prepared for drought and supply disruptions.
Bottom line
Reliable water requires planning before there's a crisis.
03
Your neighborhood
Pipelines, pumps, treatment systems, storage facilities, and other infrastructure work behind the scenes every day.
When those systems are properly maintained, most residents never think about them. When maintenance is delayed, small problems can become expensive emergencies.
Bottom line
Responsible infrastructure protects service and ratepayers.
04
Your future
Drought, extreme heat, population growth, and changing water supplies make long-term planning increasingly important for Inland Southern California.
The choices made today about conservation, local supply, storage, and infrastructure will shape how prepared our communities are tomorrow.
Bottom line
Water planning is future planning.
01
Your bill
Water Board decisions influence budgets, infrastructure spending, long-term investments, and the rates residents ultimately pay.
Rate increases should never feel like a mystery. Ratepayers deserve transparency about where their money is going, why costs are changing, and what alternatives were considered.
Bottom line
You deserve to understand your water bill.
02
Your water
Southern California depends on a mix of local and imported water. How much we invest in recycling, groundwater, conservation, storage, and other local resources affects our long-term reliability and costs.
A stronger local water portfolio can help our communities become more prepared for drought and supply disruptions.
Bottom line
Reliable water requires planning before there's a crisis.
03
Your neighborhood
Pipelines, pumps, treatment systems, storage facilities, and other infrastructure work behind the scenes every day.
When those systems are properly maintained, most residents never think about them. When maintenance is delayed, small problems can become expensive emergencies.
Bottom line
Responsible infrastructure protects service and ratepayers.
04
Your future
Drought, extreme heat, population growth, and changing water supplies make long-term planning increasingly important for Inland Southern California.
The choices made today about conservation, local supply, storage, and infrastructure will shape how prepared our communities are tomorrow.
Bottom line
Water planning is future planning.
Who makes these decisions?
The Western Municipal Water District is governed by an elected Board of Directors. Board members help oversee budgets, long-term water planning, infrastructure investment, rate decisions, and the priorities that shape the district's future.
That means this is not a ceremonial office. The person representing Division 2 has a responsibility to ask hard questions, understand how decisions affect ratepayers, and plan beyond the next budget cycle.
Board Decisions
Your Household
Why Christen
Christen Montero brings a combination of public service, business operations, and local agriculture to this race.
As a Riverside Planning Commissioner, she works at the intersection of growth, infrastructure, environmental impacts, and long-term planning.
Through local agriculture and regional food recovery, she has also seen firsthand how resource efficiency and rising operating costs affect families and small producers.
That experience shapes her approach to water:
“Water isn't an abstract issue. It's a kitchen-table issue.”
Board members review district finances, rate proposals, spending priorities, and long-term financial planning.
Board members help set priorities for water supply, conservation, storage, recycling, and future infrastructure.
Board members help determine how public resources are invested in pipelines, treatment systems, facilities, and other critical assets.
Board members are elected to bring community priorities, questions, and concerns into district decision-making.
Board members review district finances, rate proposals, spending priorities, and long-term financial planning.
Board members help set priorities for water supply, conservation, storage, recycling, and future infrastructure.
Board members help determine how public resources are invested in pipelines, treatment systems, facilities, and other critical assets.
Board members are elected to bring community priorities, questions, and concerns into district decision-making.
The bottom line
It's about what families pay each month.
It's about whether our infrastructure is ready before something breaks.
It's about whether we plan for drought before we're in one.
And it's about making sure Division 2 has a representative who treats every decision like it matters—because it does.
That's why Christen is running.
Join the campaign for affordable, reliable, and accountable water leadership in the Western Municipal Water District, Division 2.
