Charles Trevino - A Leader in Water Since 1983
About Charles
Charles M. Treviño was first elected to the Board of Directors of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (Upper District) in November 2008 and has since served three consecutive 4-year terms. Treviño represents Upper District’s Division 2, which includes all or parts of Arcadia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, South San Gabriel, and Temple City.
During his tenure as a Director, Treviño has served as President of the Board in 2011 and Vice President in both 2009 and 2010. Treviño currently serves as Upper District’s representative to the Association of California Water Agencies’ Joint Powers Insurance Authority, the San Gabriel Valley Protective Association, and as a board member of the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster. He is also a former member of the Los Angeles County Water Appeals Board, the former Vice President of the Los Angeles County Commission for Older Adults, a former Chairman of the South Pasadena Park and Recreation Commission.
Director Treviño has been a strong supporter of Upper District’s development of an Integrated Resources Plan, Urban Water Management and Water Use Efficiency Plans, which have outlined the district’s blueprint for water reliability and ensure a sustainable, clean water supply. Director Trevino has also strongly advocated for the expansion of Upper District’s robust recycled water system and community-based stormwater capture projects across the district’s service area.
Treviño came to Upper District with excellent credentials and an extensive water industry background. After many years with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), Treviño retired from the agency in 2014 as a Principal Public Affairs Representative within the Education Unit of the External Affairs Section. Prior to that, Treviño served as a Government Affairs Representative for MWD. In this capacity, he worked closely with the Chairmen of both the Senate and Assembly Water Committees to bring forth legislation that increased the efficiency of the State Water Project system to ensure the delivery of an adequate and reliable supply of affordable, high-quality water for Southern California. His work earned him the recognition of the State Legislature for increasing awareness of crucial water issues and improving the quality of life for all Californians.
Treviño’s water sector experience includes 10 years on the Central Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors, which he was first elected in 1994. At Central Basin, one of his top priorities was to increase the district’s public outreach to its diverse constituency and worked to implement public education programs with business and community leaders on water conservation and the beneficial use of recycled water. He fought to ensure that Central Basin’s budget was balanced without increasing user fees or taxes, and kept the costs of imported water at affordable rates.
Throughout his career, Treviño has upheld the importance of educating young people from all cultural and social backgrounds. This passion for education led him to pursue a teaching credential from UCLA, and a Masters in School Management and an Administrative Credential from San Diego’s Point Loma Nazarene University. He then worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher and administrator until his retirement in 2002.
Treviño is a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War and received an honorable discharge in 1968. Using the GI Bill, he went on to earn an Associate of Arts degree from Los Angeles Trade-Technical College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from California State University at Los Angeles.
Treviño currently resides in South Pasadena with his wife and family.
