Water Action Team

Our Water Action Team is a source of information about Ashland’s water reservoir levels. We contribute to the monthly newsletter about how to conserve water in your own home, and provide seasonal tips and links to City of Ashland incentives, rebates, and other resources.

Our focus areas

Our team was formed in March 2022 to provide a community-based push for water conservation, complementary to City efforts. The team focuses on:

• Public education (of residents, businesses, landscapers, and policymakers)
• Conservation ethics
• Policy Issues
• Engagement with the business community

Larry Cooper

Water Team Chair

Larry Cooper was educated at U.C. Berkeley and UCLA. He moved to Northern California and worked in subsistence farming and forestry. Living off-the-grid for several years, Larry focused on the environment and ecology and learned about the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. 

Larry and his family moved to Ashland in 1982. After helping to create information and billing systems for Rogue Valley Sewer Services, he served as their IT manager for 10 years. 

Larry is passionate about serving our community. He volunteered in the Ashland schools, joined the Ashland School District Budget Committee, and worked with Ashland High Arts Advocates for a decade. Larry served as a City of Ashland Conservation Commission member and supported community food and agriculture on the Ashland Food Co-op Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Chamber Music Concerts Board.

In his retirement, Larry has returned to his early days and is focused on water conservation and sustainability in Ashland.

Pat Acklin

Water Team Volunteer

Pat Acklin is a Professor Emerita of Geography and Environmental Studies at Southern Oregon University where she taught geography and land use planning for 25 years.

A resident of the Rogue Valley since 1971, Pat’s prior experience includes working as a Land Use Planner and Sanitarian/Soil Scientist for what is now Jackson County Development Services. She also has acted as Citizen Involvement Coordinator for a regional transportation planning effort coordinated by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments.

Pat served for 14 years on the Ashland City Council and has served on a number of non-profit boards serving the residents of Ashland and southern Oregon. She is the Past President of the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy and Soroptimist International of Ashland.