Originally from Long Beach, Nathan moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 2014 and quickly became a fan of the plentiful access to open space surrounding the city as well as in the Angeles National Forest. Currently, he works for Southern California Edison in Technical Planning, working on projects that mitigate wildfire risk and modernize the electrical grid. When he’s not working, he enjoys camping, backpacking, skiing, and hiking. He also volunteers extensively with the Pacific Crest Trail Association.
Prior to working in the utility industry, Nathan had various conservation roles, working for California Conservation Corps (removing hazard and beetle-kill trees in South Lake Tahoe and throughout the Sierra Nevadas), Ashley National Forest (maintaining trails in the High Uintas Wilderness), Los Padres Forest Association (maintaining and building trails throughout the forest), and the Pacific Crest Trail Association (working with volunteers and AmeriCorps trail crews).
Nathan Bousfield’s extensive background in utility planning and conservation management equips him with the necessary expertise to effectively serve on this Water Board. His experience as a board member of a local conservation organization has honed his understanding of our region’s water challenges, including supply, quality, and infrastructure. His concern over those issues led him to run for public office to ensure our community is kept informed of these serious issues and to offer his skills in addressing them.
As a long-time resident of the Santa Clarita Valley, Nathan is deeply committed to preserving our community’s water resources. His platform focuses on ensuring safe drinking water, a resilient water infrastructure, and affordable rates. He understands the importance of our community’s unique resource, the Santa Clara River, and will prioritize environmental protection, while fostering responsible water use and public transparency. Since much of our water supply is provided by the river and its tributaries, Nate believes that caring for the river will also safeguard our drinking water sources.
Our ground water has been polluted by industry. The presence of ammonium perchlorate, PFAS (the Teflon “forever” chemical) and volatile organic compounds has forced the closure of many of our local water wells and forced the water agency to pay for expensive water treatment facilities. Nathan will hold polluters accountable and insist that they bear the cost of clean-up.
Nathan is dedicated to representing the interests of working families. He knows how difficult it is in these times to pay the bills and make ends meet. He supports a living wage for agency staff and contract workers.
Nathan acknowledges the science behind climate change and knows that as our planet warms, our water resources, especially in the SCV may become scarcer. We must address the recurrence of drought in ways that will not cause sudden hardship for residents.
Nathan will take the climate pledge and will not accept contributions from developers or oil companies. We must reduce Greenhouse Gases to slow global heating. The water agency can make a difference in this area.
Nathan’s vision includes:
- Expanding reclaimed water use;
- Promoting conservation through initiatives like lawn replacement;
- Encouraging drought tolerant landscaping;
- Increased generation and use of solar power.