Board of Directors
Western Water’s five-member board of directors comprises the governing body. The Board is responsible to the members of the public of their respective divisions and to the general public within Western Water's service area for the proper conduct of Western Water affairs.
Directors are elected to four-year terms by the registered voters in five geographic divisions, which are apportioned by population. The five Director's terms are staggered to ensure continuity. While they do not have to be Western Water retail water customers, Directors must reside within their division.
Division 1
Mike Gardner | Board Member
An advocate for water supply diversity with more than two decades of experience in environmental planning and a combined 35 years of utility management, oversight, and policy experience, Mike Gardner joined Western Water’s Board of Directors in December 2020. He represents Division 1, which includes a portion of the City of Riverside located north of State Route 91 (91 Freeway) and extending to the San Bernardino County line.
Director Gardner serves on Western Water’s Finance Committee and the joint committees for the City of Riverside and Eastern Municipal Water District. He also represents Western Water on the boards for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), Chino Basin Watermaster, and Highgrove Municipal Advisory Council. Additionally, Director Gardner is the alternate representative for the Chino Desalter Authority, Santa Rosa Regional Resources Authority, Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District joint committee, Riverside Advisory Committee, and the Woodcrest Municipal Advisory Council.
Director Gardner served on the Riverside City Council for 12 years, where he was a member of the council committee overseeing Riverside’s Public Utilities. He has also served three different governors over ten years as a Governor’s appointee to the Seismic Safety Commission.
Director Gardner is currently a Board member of the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center, Animal Solutions Konnection, Rivers and Lands Conservancy, and the Evergreen Memorial Historic Cemetery Association. He is a graduate of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Leadership Riverside program, class of 2005.
Mike Gardner has lived in Riverside for more than 50 years with his wife. His current term on the Western Water Board of Directors expires in December 2026.
Division 2
Gracie Torres | Board Member
A committed water quality and compliance professional, Gracie Torres joined Western Water’s Board of Directors in December 2018. She represents Division 2, which includes portions of the City of Riverside located southeast of State Route 91 (91 Freeway) and west of Interstate 215, as well as portions of Lake Mathews, March Air Reserve Base, and Woodcrest.
Director Torres has previously received Western Water's Lois B. Krieger Endowed Scholarship. She received the award while attending California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). In 2019, Ms. Torres was awarded an “IMPACT Award” by The Pick Group of Riverside for Civic Impact and recognized as “35 under 35” in 2020 by the Young Elected Officials Network.
She is a longtime Riverside resident and a proud product of Riverside Unified School District schools and Riverside Community College. Her passion for water quality and environmental science developed when she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Biochemistry and a Master's in Earth and Environmental Sciences from CSUSB. She is currently working on a Doctorate in Public Administration at California Baptist University. Professionally, she is a water chemist and water quality compliance planner with Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and is an adjunct chemistry professor at CSUSB.
Director Torres serves on Western Water's Executive Ad Hoc Committee. She also sits on Western Water's Engineering, Operations, and Water Resources and Community and Government Affairs Committees. She also serves on the joint committees for the City of Riverside, Eastern and Rancho California Water Districts, and the Riverside Advisory Council. Additionally, Director Torres is Western Water’s representative for the March Joint Powers Authority Successor Agency Oversight Committee, Chino Desalter Authority, Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority, and Woodcrest Municipal Advisory Council. Director Torres is Western Water's alternate representative for the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority and Highgrove Municipal Advisory Council.
Gracie Torres and her husband live in Riverside with their three children. Her current term on the Western Water Board of Directors expires in December 2026.
Division 3
Brenda Dennstedt | Secretary/Treasurer
An experienced water education advocate, Brenda Dennstedt joined Western Water's Board of Directors in January 2007 and was subsequently re-elected in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. Director Dennstedt represents Division 3, which includes Lake Mathews, properties located south of Cajalco Road and west of Interstate 215, and the cities of Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula, Rainbow, and Wildomar.
Director Dennstedt is committed to maintaining a standard of excellence by consistently demonstrating active engagement in all of her many roles throughout the region. She was elected to the Murrieta County Water District board in 2003, which merged with Western Water in November 2005.
As Western Water’s representative on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board, which spans six counties and serves 19 million people in Southern California, Director Dennstedt is responsible for representing the interests of nearly one million customers who receive their water service directly and indirectly from Western Water.
Director Dennstedt is an elected member of the Association of California Water Agencies Region 9 Board and the current chair of the Western Riverside Council of Governments Executive Committee.
She sits on Western Water’s Community and Government Affairs and Finance Committees. Additionally, Director Dennstedt represents Western Water as an alternate on the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) Board and is a member of SAWPA’s One Water, One Watershed Committee.
Director Dennstedt has dedicated her service to the region through her consistent support of water education and regional representation. She serves on the joint committees of Elsinore Valley, Rancho California, and Eastern Municipal Water Districts. She is also Western Water's representative for the Lake Elsinore and San Jacinto Watersheds Authority and serves as an alternate representative for the Temescal Valley Municipal Advisory Council and the Association of the California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority.
Director Dennstedt’s current term on the Western Water Board of Directors expires in December 2026.
Division 4
Laura Roughton | President
With an extensive background in successful public service, a working knowledge of the water industry, and municipal oversight and policy experience, Laura Roughton joined Western Water’s Board of Directors in August 2021. She represents Division 4, which includes the communities of Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, and Norco.
Director Roughton serves on Western Water’s Community and Government Affairs and Finance Committees, as well as the Rancho California Water District Joint Committee. She is also Western Water’s representative on the Chino Desalter Authority and the Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority.
Director Roughton is Western Water's alternate Board representative to the Riverside Joint Committee, Chino Basin Watermaster, and Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority.
Prior to joining the Western Water Board, Director Roughton served on the Jurupa Valley City Council and was its representative to the Western Riverside Council of Governments and the Santa Ana River Watershed Project Authority's One Water, One Watershed (OWOW) Steering Committee. During her time on the OWOW Steering Committee, she displayed her leadership through regional collaboration in the Santa Ana Watershed to protect and carefully utilize the watershed shared by residents and visitors to our region.
Director Roughton has been a long-time resident of her represented area, living within the Division 4 boundaries for more than 30 years.
Director Roughton's current term on the Western Water Board of Directors expires in December 2028.
Division 5
Fauzia Rizvi | Vice President
A business owner and a community advocate with expertise working as a professional in the field of water management and consulting, Fauzia Rizvi joined Western Water’s Board of Directors in December 2020. She represents Division 5, which includes the City of Corona, Home Gardens, El Cerrito, and a portion of Temescal Canyon.
Director Rizvi serves on Western Water’s Engineering, Operations, and Water Resources Committee and its Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Joint Committee. She is also Western Water’s representative on the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority and Santa Rosa Regional Resources Authority. Additionally, she represents Western Water as the alternate member to the Western Riverside Council of Governments.
Director Rizvi is heavily involved in the community. She served many years as a parent-teacher association member, worked for the Interfaith Coalition, and volunteered for organizations such as the Corona Norco Interfaith Association, Beloved Corona, and Cops & Clergy. She was the first woman elected to the executive board of the Islamic Society for Corona Norco.
Director Rizvi currently serves as a Board member and Interfaith Chair for the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California and on the Riverside Community College District’s Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. She is also the President of For the People Taskforce, a non-profit organization that helps people with food insecurity and utility debt throughout the Inland Empire.
Director Rizvi is a long-time resident of the City of Corona.
Director Rizvi's current term on the Western Water Board of Directors expires in December 2028.