EEC Environmental Staff Geologist, Chris Baker, has been elected as president of the Groundwater Resources Association’s Southern California branch.
Baker has been heavily involved with the South Coast Geological Society for a number of years and was elected president in 2016 as the youngest president in the organization’s history. He was approached, following the end of his term as president, by the previous president of the Groundwater Resources Association of California’s Southern California branch (GRAC) to help lead the organization and was elected to the office of president in 2017.
Baker has been involved with many professional organizations beginning when he was a student in college and believes that these organizations have helped him grow, learn, and become more knowledgeable about the industry. As the president of GRAC, he aims to bring other professionals of the field together, and give the local members of the state organization a voice to help provide state legislators with advice and guidance for the sustainability and use of groundwater in California.
“In this position, I am able to help bring the groundwater community closer together, provide learning experiences for the group’s members, and head up networking events,” said Baker. “I am also able to connect professionals of the industry with one another, varying agency members, and students.”
Recently the organization held a membership meeting in the Orange County Water District Boardroom on October 10, 2017 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. There were an estimated total of about 50 people in attendance that included working professionals, representatives from local government agencies, students, local collegiate faculty, geologists, hydrogeologists, business owners and enthusiasts.
The meeting, sponsored by the Orange County Water District, featured a presentation by Brian Villalobos titled “MPWSP Test Slant Well Long-Term Pumping Test Program Located near the City of Marina, Central Coast of California” and included a tour led by Adam Hutchinson of the of the project, which is the world’s largest Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR) project, and a tour of the various treatment processes used to purify sewer water into water this is distilled quality.
You can view the photos from the meeting by clicking the following link.
