[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM R. MILLS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2002

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute 
to and honor the accomplishments of William R. Mills, Jr., of Yorba 
Linda, California.
  Bill graduated from the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in 
engineering in 1959, and earned his masters degree in civil engineering 
from Loyola University in Los Angeles in 1976.
  Bill spent seventeen years with the engineering firm, Planning 
Research, before breaking off to become an independent water 
consultant. For the past fourteen years he has presided over the Orange 
County Water District as its General Manager. Bill is a Diplomate for 
the American Academy of Environmental Engineers, and Fellow for the 
American Society of Civil Engineers.
  Bill is world renowned for the ``Water Factory 21'' water filtration 
system used to purify water used in irrigation in Southern California. 
This groundwater renovation reservoir provides about 75 percent of the 
water for the area's 2 million citizens. He has helped promote this 
technology as far away as Saudi Arabia and has effectively demonstrated 
this technology to be main stream in the water industry.
  Bill's accolades include being named Water Leader of the Year in 
1992, Outstanding Member of the WateReuse Association of California in 
1994, and the Orange County Engineer of the Year in 1996. He earned the 
Outstanding Member of the American Desalting Association in 1994 and 
was later awarded their Presidential Award for Distinguished Service in 
1996. Bill's work also earned him the Leadership in Engineering award 
for Water Resources from the Institute for the Advancement of 
Engineering in 1999.
  Perhaps Bill's greatest accomplishment, though, is his family. Bill 
and his wife have reared three fine sons who have rewarded him with his 
greatest pleasure. Bill looks forward to retirement most so that he can 
begin to enjoy time with his three grandchildren.
  I would like to thank Bill for his dedicated service to Southern 
California and his progressive leadership in addressing the area's 
tremendous water concerns. I wish him the best in his retirement.

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