Water Agency Accuses Former Director of Defamation

Desert Water Agency Placed on Notice that One of its Directors is Allegedly Defaming MSWD

PALM SPRINGS — Ivan Sewell, board president of the Mission Springs Water District, minces no words in a Sept. 6 letter to Paul Ortega, president of the Desert Water Agency board of directors. Sewell wrote that his letter is to advise you and your Board of certain “defamatory comments being made about Mission Springs Water District by your Director, Steve Grasha, purportedly as a representative of and on DWA’s behalf.”

“Specifically, I understand that on May 29, 2024, during a District “water talk” meeting, Mr. Grasha falsely stated that MSWD is presenting inconsistent information related to Chromium-6 and has advocated for allowing as many as 250 of its citizens to die from Chromium-6, or words to that effect. These statements are both incorrect and reckless.”

Uken Report obtained a copy of the letter through the Freedom of Information Act.

Grasha served on the MSWD Board of Directors from 2018 to 2022 where he served on the Engineering and Finance Committees. Steve Grasha was elected in 2022 to represent District 1.

Sewell further alleges that at a meeting at the Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula, Grasha stated, among other things, that after hurricane Hillary, MSWD issued a boil water alert in an area that included an RV park where Grasha resides, but that MSWD failed to timely notify the manager of the RV park. Sewell also wrote that Grasha claimed that the manager of his RV park, Two Springs R.V. Resort, was not notified of the boil water alert until several days after the alert was issued. This statement by Mr. Grasha was
“categorically false,” Sewell writes.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Grasha did not stop there,” Sewell writes. “Mr. Grasha also claimed that MSWD was hiring individuals that are not qualified to work at any other water agency and essentially ended up at MSWD. Egregiously, Mr. Grasha went on to state that MSWD’s water is contaminated. This false claim is one that Mr. Grasha has made in the past and is damaging not only to MSWD but also to DWA given that DWA serves as the Groundwater Sustainability Agency within nearly all of MSWD’s boundaries.”

The two-page letter concludes with Sewell asking Desert Water Agency to take any action it deems appropriate to bring an end to Grasha’s “ongoing campaign of defamation” against MSWD while he is serving as a representative of your agency.

Asked what the Agency plans to do with the letter, Victoria Llort, Director of Public Affairs and Conservation for DWA, told Uken Report. The Agency (DWA) has no further comment at this time,

“As a customer of the Mission Springs Water District, it’s clear to me that the district routinely avoids addressing the critical issues it faces,” Grasha told Uken Report. “Instead, they rely on threats and intimidation to suppress meaningful discussion. I’ve long believed the board should focus on urgent matters like chromium 6 remediation and eliminating wasteful spending. Instead, they spent millions on a frivolous lawsuit against Desert Water Agency, filled with baseless claims that were rejected by every court in the state, including the California Supreme Court. They also opted to build a lavish new office building using funds that should have gone toward removing the carcinogenic toxin, chromium 6, from our drinking water. The nearly complete turnover in district employees in recent years further highlights the real issues at MSWD. While I remain open to constructive dialogue with Mission Springs, after serving four years on its board, I’ve come to realize that making meaningful progress with them will be nearly impossible.”