The Club has scheduled two months of meetings about water issues. For the Saturday, July 11 meeting, the topic will be “The Importance of Water in Regional Planning.” The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Escondido Public Library, 239 S. Kalmia St.

The featured speaker will be Kelley Gage, Senior Water Resources Specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority. (More information on Kelley Gage.) Gage oversees preparation of the 2010 Urban Water Management Plan, a long-range planning document that identifies and describes the future mix of water resources and projected demands in the San Diego region. She will review how the availability of water affects long-range development planning and informs the revision of the Escondido General Plan.

The topic for the Thursday, August 13 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Joslyn Senior Center, 210 Park Ave. in Escondido, is wastewater disposal, with guest speakers from the City of Escondido and the Escondido Creek Conservancy.

For additional information about EDC or the meeting, contact Rick Moore at 760-740-8595 or communications@escondidodems.org

July 11 Speaker: Kelley Gage

Kelley Gage, San Diego County Water Authority

Kelley Gage is a senior water resource specialist and environmental project manager for the San Diego County Water Authority. The Water Authority is the regional water agency that provides about 90 percent of all the water used in San Diego County, supporting a $171 billion economy and the quality of life for 3 million residents. Gage joined the Water Authority in May 2001.

Gage is currently the project manager overseeing preparation of the Water Authority’s 2010 Urban Water Management Plan, a long-range planning document that identifies and describes the future mix of water resources planned to meet projected demands in the San Diego region out to the year 2035. Gage also managed preparation of the environmental documents and obtained all of the regulatory permits for the Carryover Storage and San Vicente Dam Raise Project, which will begin construction later this year.

Gage serves as liaison with other governmental regulatory agencies to ensure necessary environmental documents are prepared and permits are obtained. She assists in preparing environmental sections of the Water Authority administrative code, reviews Water Authority environmental policies, and reviews and comments on federal register notices, new environmental laws and regulations. She also reviews and comments on external agency policies, environmental documents and plans and actions relative to Water Authority responsibilities, operations and future plans for facilities.

Gage has more than 15 years of prior experience in the water and environmental industries, working as a project coordinator in the Olivenhain Municipal Water District’s Engineering Department and as a project manager for the State of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Municipal Facilities Section.

She is a member of the San Diego Chapter of the Association of Environmental Professionals. Gage has a bachelor’s degree in natural resource development/geology from Michigan State University. She lives in Del Mar.