Rowland Water District’s longest-serving director returns to the special district seat he helped create in the 1990s
ROWLAND HEIGHTS, CA (September 1, 2026) — Rowland Water District (RWD) Division IV Director Robert W. Lewis has been re-appointed to serve as the special district representative on the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) for the County of Los Angeles. His term runs through May 2030.
LAFCO determines where the boundaries between local governments fall and whether the services within them meet the needs of the communities they serve. In Los Angeles County, that authority extends across 88 incorporated cities and 89 independent special districts responsible for water, sewer, fire, park and other services. A single voting seat on the commission represents the entire special district community in Los Angeles County.
“Director Lewis studies the matters before him and acts on what the record supports,” said RWD General Manager Tom Coleman. “He has held that standard at Rowland Water for more than 30 years and carries it to LAFCO in support of special districts across LA County.”
Lewis originally served on the Special Districts Ad Hoc Committee in the 1990s that established special district representation on the commission. He was appointed to the seat himself in May 2022, three decades after helping to create it. This appointment represents his second term.
Special districts occupy a distinct layer of California local government. Each one exists because residents formed it to provide a specific service, each is governed by its own board accountable to the community within its boundaries, and each operates independently of the city or county around it. That structure holds decisions close to the people who are most impacted by the results.
“Special districts provide specialized services to millions of residents across this county, and they hold a stake in every boundary and service decision the commission makes,” Lewis said. “I am grateful for the confidence of my colleagues and extremely privileged to continue the work on behalf of the residents of Los Angeles County.”
Lewis has represented Division IV on the Rowland Water District Board of Directors since December 1993. His public service began on the City of Fullerton’s Redevelopment Commission, and he now serves as an ACWA Region 8 Board Member and on the Puente Basin Water Agency Board of Commissioners.
