[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 2, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE CAREER OF ANTHONY (TONY) ZAMPIELLO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GRACE F. NAPOLITANO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 2, 2024

  Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the long career of 
public service provided to the people of the San Gabriel Valley and 
Southern California by Anthony (Tony) Zampiello of the San Gabriel 
Valley Water Association and the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster.
  Water policy and management is one of the most controversial, 
complicated, and costly issues in California. In my region there are 
hundreds of different water supply agencies, water treatment works, 
water distributors, and water users. One of the things that the varied 
water interests in the San Gabriel Valley agree on is the deep 
gratitude we have for the invaluable expertise of Tony Zampiello over 
the past 35 years.
  Tony has been at the forefront of managing water agencies and 
advising policy makers on historic water rights, urban water usage, 
infrastructure, federal programs, and groundwater management. As the 
primary groundwater manager in the San Gabriel Valley, Tony has 
effectively administered basin levels and usage through cycles of 
drought and heavy storm seasons. The San Gabriel Basin would not have 
withstood the severe droughts of the past decade and come back at 
heightened levels the way it did if it were not for Tony's leadership.
  Tony has testified in Congress and provided policy advice that has 
been at the forefront of the water debates and legislation signed into 
law. He was the impetus for multiple provisions in Water Resources 
Development Acts that have led to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
improving groundwater recharge and dam operations in Southern 
California. He advocated for improved stormwater capture that led to a 
new Clean Water Act program for stormwater in the Bipartisan 
Infrastructure Law. He has championed water recycling that has spurred 
Congress to provide millions of dollars in additional Bureau of 
Reclamation funding to reuse wastewater and release it into spreading 
grounds and improve our aquifers.
  Mr. Speaker, we are happy that Tony is moving on to a much-deserved 
retirement, but we will greatly miss the reservoir of knowledge that he 
has provided to water managers and policy makers. I ask my colleagues 
to join me in congratulating Tony Zampiello on his retirement, and 
thanking him for his long career of public service to the people of 
Southern California.

                          ____________________