5/4/24

Marin Municipal Water District develops conservation playbook, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I really, really think that we should have our water efficiency efforts tied to the analytics that we’re doing on water supply and storage,” board member Jed Smith said.

The district is considering reservoir expansion proposals that would cost upwards of $290 million just to construct, he said. The district is also looking at proposals to connect pipelines between Sonoma and Marin at a cost of $140 million to $380 million.

“We have to look at them next to each other and we have to look at how water efficiency and conservation can help drive us to be more sustainable from a water supply perspective for a long time,” Smith said.

4/5/24

Marin Municipal Water District approves work plan, Krissy Waite, Marin Independent Journal

Jed Smith, a water district board member, pointed out that many of the actions are scheduled to happen in the fourth quarter.

“I think the one that stood out to me was the need for an emergency water supply plan in case drought happens,” Smith said. “Starting that in another nine months gives me a little concern, but right now we have rain so it feels OK, but I feel like we’re in a crisis right now.”

4/4/24

MMWD explores pilot programs for expanded bike access, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“Board member Jed Smith said that ahead of the March 21 meeting he came across an article from 1999 that highlighted that the trails were used by more than 2 million people, but the issues were the same then as they are now.

“The only thing that changed in the article were the names that were quoted,” he said. “There has been no update of our recreation oversight.”

Smith said he supports the plan.

“I believe it is thoughtful, balanced and incremental,” he said. “It is not a radical shift. It is led by stewardship of our critical habitat, our mission to ensure clean, safe, affordable drinking water.”

4/1/24

Marin water district digs into recycled water costs, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I do think there are some further explorations that we could have here, and I would like us to make some efforts to continue our recycled water work,” said Jed Smith, a board member.

3/26/24

MMWD explores projects to add storage capacity, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“In addition to cost, we obviously have to look at the environmental impact on our critical habitat and our native species and our watershed,” said board member Jed Smith. “I’d like to make sure that that is at the top of our additional criteria.”

2/23/24

Marin City slated for water pipeline overhaul, Krissy Waite, Marin Independent Journal

“This is an underserved community,” said Jed Smith, a district board member, said during an operations committee meeting on Feb. 16. “We’re replacing 40% of their pipes, which is a massive, massive move for Marin City, but I think even more importantly this is the beginning of helping understand other issues that are going on in the community in regards to health and safety issues with water and others.”…

Smith said part of the funding will go toward community awareness. He said thousands of customers who have water meters should be contacted and made aware of how the quality of the pipe affects water and the meters.

“Even though that is not our responsibility, this will help understand what other underlying issues are in some of these old buildings that were built really as temporary housing, so I think we’re going above and beyond laying down this pipe and this contract,” Smith said.

1/24/24

Marin Municipal Water District reservoirs reach capacity amid storms, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“The importance of water efficiency and conservation is no less now, even though it’s rained,” board member Jed Smith said. “Now’s the time, frankly, to look at your lawns, look at your landscape, at your habitat and do your best to conserve.”

12/21/23

Marin Municipal Water District outlines goals for resiliency, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I think it’d be good to maybe put some timeline around these items,” board member Jed Smith said. “A five-year objective I think that’s cool, but you know, let’s see how we can hold ourselves accountable in the meantime.”

12/18/23

Marin rain could spur salmon activity, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I’m proud of our stewardship of this land,” board member Jed Smith said at the Dec. 12 meeting. “And it’s a unique thing for a water agency to be focused on, and we’re doing it well.”

12/07/23

Marin Municipal Water District details goals for supply, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“Board member Jed Smith said the district previously approved a goal of adding about 10,000 to 12,000 acre-feet of water storage by 2030, and said this plan should have the same target.

“This is the time where we can step up,” Smith said.

11/29/23

Marin Municipal Water District develops five-year strategic plan, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I don’t know if you necessarily have to quantify it, right? It doesn’t have to be a number, but we really should be able to measure it,” board member Jed Smith said.

Smith said in addition to emphasizing that the district’s mission is to ensure clean and safe drinking water, there is another overriding goal that should be discussed throughout the strategic plan.

“Even though fiscal responsibility is its own goal I’d like to see it in every part of our strategic plan,” Smith said.

11/10/23

Marin Municipal Water District approves 5.4% raise for union workers, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I think this is an opportunity for our represented staff, our unrepresented staff, our leadership team, the board, to all lock arms and move in one direction,” said Jed Smith, a board member…

“I think we have an opportunity to learn from the past and move forward in as positive a light as possible,” Smith said. “We have so much to do in the months and years to come that it’s time for us to have better, open communication, get the best ideas to the top, and be super thoughtful about supporting each other.”

10/29/23

Lagunitas Creek salmon habitat project gets $4.6M grant, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“What a lucky organization we are to have this tremendous staff that is protecting Lagunitas Creek, one of the great coho habitats in the North Coast of California,” said Jed Smith, chair of the finance committee and a member of the district board. “This is just another phase in a long project, but super proud to be associated with it.

10/28/23

Marin water suppliers support Mendocino plant conversion, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

“I think this was an extremely clever plan that was put together,” said Jed Smith, a member of the Marin Municipal Water District board. “It’s complex and been a long time in the running, so I want to lock arms with Sonoma and some of their other contractors and constituents and see how we can help.”

10/24/23

Dick Spotswood: Turning MMWD around will take years, but process is underway, Opinion, Marin Independent Journal

“New MMWD Director Jed Smith indicates that the roadmap is an “all of the above approach.” He insists, “Execution has to be results-driven.”

10/17/23

Marin water district plots reservoir connection plan, Adrian Rodriguez, Marin Independent Journal

Board member Jed Smith said the district was the first water agency in the state to declare a drought emergency, and he feels that status hasn’t changed, putting them in a good position for funding.

“I think we really do have some good potential,” with the USBR, Smith said. “We fit their mission and what they are meant to achieve with the smaller storage opportunities.”

10/06/23

'This is an outrage': MMWD water bill surge stuns some ratepayers, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“We were elected into office to help solve a crisis that we were handed by drought and by a lack of supply,” said district board member Jed Smith, who was elected in late 2022. “We are still in a massive crisis in Marin. We are highly focused on solving that and it’s going to take a lot of capital to do so.”…

Smith said that while he has heard constituents talk about higher water costs, he said there hasn’t been shock or surprise. Instead, he said, residents have told him they will hold the district and its board members accountable for living up to their promises.

“This is a highly thought-through process to respond to what our community was saying,” Smith said, “and what our customers were saying was that it was really dire that we almost ran out of water in 2021.”

08/19/23

Marin Municipal Water District approves 5.4% raise for non-union staff, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“I think the longer this negotiation is prolonged the worse it looks for everybody, the more polarized it is, the more blaming that both sides have,” board member Jed Smith said during the meeting. “I believe the issues are completely resolvable.”

08/18/23

Marin water utility set to begin studies of new supply options, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“We seem like an optimal landowner and climate for solar,” board member Jed Smith said. “We have a long-term perspective. It would just be good to see the math.”

06/21/23

Marin Municipal Water District adopts budget to bolster water supply, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“I think as we look back on this decision tonight I expect that our community will see that this is a clear shift to further invest in our critical habitat, to encourage our efficiencies in our system, to stave off the deterioration of our infrastructure and increase our water resiliency for future generations,” board member Jed Smith said during the meeting…

“It’s going to take a long time to build back to where we were,” Smith said.

06/09/23

Marin Municipal Water District reports progress on supply projects, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“We almost ran out of water in 2021. We have an enormous amount of work to do to ensure that we have resiliency for the long term,” board member Jed Smith said during the meeting.”

06/05/23

Editorial: Hard decisions await MMWD as scrutiny mounts, Marin Independent Journal Editorial Board

“Director Jed Smith says that without the rate increase, the district is losing $1 million per month and has an aging water system “in need of drastic repair.”

05/07/23

Marin Municipal Water District details water supply budget, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“This is a historic investment that this agency is making in our infrastructure that I don’t know we have seen in a very, very long time — probably decades,” board member Jed Smith said during an informational hearing on the proposed budget on Tuesday.

“The tasks that you guys are taking on are significant and I think our community should be proud that we’re making these bold steps to help ensure that we have a safe water supply and infrastructure to meet everybody’s needs,” he said.

04/06/23

Marin Municipal Water District seeks grant to study reservoir expansion, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“That is a huge investment,” board member Jed Smith said during the meeting. “That’s more than the entire water supply roadmap study that Jacobs (Engineering) just did. So this is not insignificant.”

03/25/23

Marin Municipal Water District seeks $200K grant for desalination study, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

The district’s board voted 4-0 on Tuesday, with Jed Smith abstaining, to retroactively authorize an application to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for the study. The district submitted the grant application in late February….

“My abstention from the vote did not lean into the merit of wanting to understand this more,” Smith said during the meeting.

Staff told the board that it had been eyeing the grant since January and had already submitted an application in February. Smith said he and some other board members were only notified about the details of the grant shortly before the meeting Tuesday.

“I feel like we’ve had a lot of pushback from our community about study after study that we just approve, and this one we haven’t even actually reviewed and it’s been on the desk for two months,” Smith said.

03/18/23

Marin Municipal Water District seeks rate hikes of up to 20%, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“To be clear for our customers, what we are asking them is to follow the climate,” board member Jed Smith said during the meeting. “Climate change is the driver here. And as drought kicks in, use less water and your bills won’t go up as much. That’s the clear message.”

03/03/23

Marin Municipal Water District selects strategy for new water supplies, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

“We are on the cusp of approving significant funds to invest in storage, supply, conservation to the tune that our community has never seen before,” district board member Jed Smith said before the vote on Tuesday.

02/27/23

Marin Voice: Conservation goes hand in hand with building a resilient water supply, Kristi Denton Cohen, Marin Independent Journal

In his blog, newly elected Director Jed Smith recently wrote, “Our revenue shortfall,” combined with “inflation and drought, has … put us in a bit of a bind.”

He went on to write, “We need upgrades at San Geronimo Water Treatment plant, Toscana pump station, old storage tanks and more. These critical infrastructure needs rise to a level of severity comparable with our water supply. Critical capital program prioritizing is … in the works.”

02/23/23

Marin Municipal Water District details drought surcharge proposal, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

Board member Jed Smith said the rate would encourage conservation among ratepayers.

“If you conserve water, if you save, if we keep water in our reservoirs, the rates won’t go up as much,” Smith said during the meeting Tuesday. “This is a strong incentive to reduce demand, reuse your water and not waste it. I think that that is the key message for this pretty significant change.”

01/28/23

Marin water district tests supply options against severe drought, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

Rains in late 2021 worked to nearly refill local reservoirs but demonstrated the vulnerability of the local water supply. Voters responded in 2022 by electing three new board members — Ranjiv Khush, Matthew Samson and Jed Smith — who had campaigned on bolstering local supplies….

“We can mix and match to help put together a portfolio that we think would work in the short, medium and long term,” Smith said during the meeting.

01/07/23

MMWD weighs rate hikes as reserves sag, costs rise, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

These financial challenges fall in the lap of a newly reorganized board of directors with a majority of new members. The new members — Ranjiv Khush, Matt Samson and Jed Smith — were elected in November after running campaigns calling for new water supply investments and criticizing incumbents for not preparing for the drought emergency that put the agency at risk of depleting local reservoirs as soon as mid-2022….

“That long period of not increasing rates has set us with what I do believe is a true backlog,” Smith said. “Now it’s time to do it, now it’s time to reinvest in our infrastructure, reinvest in our supply and our storage.”

01/07/23

Marin water reservoir system near capacity amid storms, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

Jed Smith, one of the new directors, said during the board’s meeting Tuesday that after a year of studies, the board needs to make decisions and set specific goals.

“It’s time for us to make some calls and it’s time for us to look at real portfolio options as soon as possible,” Smith said.

12/17/22

New Marin Municipal Water District board takes look at supply options, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

Board member Smith said that while having a short- to long-term perspective on the projects will be useful, he said the district has yet to set an established goal of how much more water it is seeking to add to its system.

“If you don’t know if you’re shooting for 10,000 acre-feet or 30,000 acre-feet or 2,000 acre-feet, well then it going to be hard to pick something,” Smith said during the meeting.

12/14/22

Marin Municipal Water District weighs rate hikes amid fiscal stress, Will Houston, Marin Independent Journal

Water scientist Ranjiv Khush defeated eight-year incumbent Larry Bragman for the Division 3 seat while firefighter Matt Samson defeated 28-year incumbent Jack Gibson for the Division 1 seat. Jed Smith, a venture capital firm executive, was elected to the Division 4 seat previously held by 17-year incumbent Cynthia Koehler, who did not seek reelection. The new board members were sworn in on Monday.

10/12/22

Editorial: Samson, Smith, Bragman are best choices for MMWD, Marin Independent Journal Editorial Board

Division 4, including Mill Valley, parts of Tiburon, Sausalito, Marin City, Muir Woods, areas of Mount Tamalpais and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, has an open seat. Venture capitalist Jed Smith and fish biologist Shana Katzman are running to replace Cynthia Koehler, who is not running for reelection….

In Division 4, Smith’s ability to collaborate, communicate and make connections gives him the nod over Katzman. There is a value to having another scientist on the board, and Katzman is a leader in the field, as her endorsement from the Clean Water Action group shows. But, in this race, Smith’s ability to work across many stakeholders is enticing.

Smith’s optimistic approach inspired a long list of impressive endorsements – including one from Rep. Jared Huffman, a former MMWD director now serving the North Coast in Congress.