[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 87 (Thursday, June 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO G. LOUIS FLETCHER, SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER 
                                DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2001

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to pay 
tribute to the 35-year public service career of G. Louis Fletcher, the 
General Manager of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, 
located in my Congressional District in Southern California. From his 
start as an engineer, General Manager Fletcher has provided leadership 
at every level of the agency. He will retire at the end of this month.
  Louis Fletcher is one of the unsung men of vision who have ensured 
that the booming communities of the San Bernardino and Yucaipa Valleys 
have never faced a water supply problem. Starting with the agency in 
1966, Mr. Fletcher was responsible for the design and construction of a 
major aqueduct system that presently delivers imported water from the 
California State Water Project to the San Bernardino and Yucaipa 
Valleys.
  Mr. Fletcher has championed the needs of constituents in the 40th 
Congressional District for decades, including leading the fight to 
convince the Army Corps of Engineers to agree to a flood-control dam 
that would be much more aesthetic--and more effective--than what was 
planned for the town of Mentone. The completed Seven Oaks Dam on the 
upper Santa Ana River provides flood control relief for millions and 
blends wonderfully with the surrounding hills.
  The principal accomplishment of Mr. Fletcher's career has been the 
design and construction of a water supply system for hundreds of 
thousands of people. He is known throughout California for his 
innovative work in groundwater management, water quality and quantity 
computer models, mortar lining of steel water pipelines, and improved 
methods of wastewater management.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring G. Louis 
Fletcher for his lifelong work in providing clean and reliable water to 
so many people. It is fitting that all of us join with his family and 
friends in recognizing his service and dedication to the San Bernardino 
Valley Municipal Water District. We wish him well in his future 
endeavors.

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