Bruce Houdesheldt joined the Northern California Water Association’s (NCWA) in 2009 as Director of Water Quality. His role involves program management responsibility for the Sacramento Valley Water Quality Coalition (Coalition), a watershed-based agricultural water quality program, and policy around safe drinking water. Working with growers, local Farm Bureau leadership, crop specialists from the University of California Cooperative Extension, natural resource specialists and Agricultural Commissioners he ensures the compliance and reporting requirements of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Irrigated Lands Regulatory Program (ILRP) are met for the 7,600 owners and operators of irrigated lands enrolled in the Coalition.
He oversees the work of a multi-disciplinary team of legal, technical, and agronomic specialists who carry out surface water quality sampling and reporting, review of pyrethroid policy development, groundwater quality assessment, groundwater quality trend monitoring, and protection of groundwater from nitrate and salinity leaching.
In addition to working with Coalition’s 11 Subwatersheds on the ILRP, he supports the North State Drinking Water Solutions Network which is an ad-hoc group convened by the NCWA as a forum for interested parties to share information and coordinate efforts related to ensuring that all communities in the Sacramento River Basin have access to safe drinking water, participates in stakeholder working groups for a number of basin planning efforts—Central Valley Drinking Water Policy Working Group, Clear Lake Nutrient TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), and Central Valley Salinity Alternatives for Long Term Sustainability (CV-SALTS) Basin Plan Amendment—and monitors evolving and emerging public policy and regulatory proposals. In his capacity, he coordinates with publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) and other dischargers on development of basin plan amendments and TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Load) to ensure in regulatory proposals based on scientifically sound information.
He contributes periodic blog and social media posts articles on emerging water quality issues.
Before joining NCWA, Bruce was engaged in water resource issues, securing water allocations and formation of public policy on water, land use, and endangered species for a national home builder and as a lobbyist with the building industry. Bruce has served on the Roseville City Council since 2019, including serving as Mayor from 2022-2024.
