At its founding in 1911, the Long Beach Water Department was originally placed under the control of the Long Beach City Manager. In the subsequent years, the City of Long Beach continued to grow while its water supply became more unreliable. It eventually became apparent that independent oversight of the Water Department would be necessary.
The need for an independent Water Commission was brought to the city’s attention by two separate committees formed in 1930, a Citizens Water Committee and a Water Rights Committee. Each committee would be tasked with studying local water conditions and subsequently reporting their findings and recommendations.
The current President of the Board is Gloria Cordero, who was elected by her fellow Board members in October 2022. Naomi Rainey serves as Vice President and Gina Rushing Maguire serves as Secretary.
In January 2023, Long Beach Water merged with the city’s natural gas utility, forming Long Beach Utilities and renaming the commission the Board of Utilities Commissioners.
