For decades, residents of Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights and nearby communities have relied on water that comes from some 600 miles away, as do many people across Southern California.

On Tuesday, the Rowland Water District board will vote whether to reduce that distance by 596.5 miles. In the mind of this small, East San Gabriel Valley water district, the shorter the distance, the less chance anything can go wrong to jeopardize the precious water supply.

In the jargon of Southern California water managers, who operate in a semi-arid region under the threat of earthquakes and brown-outs, it’s called enhancing water reliability.

For Ken Deck, whose main job is to supply water uninterrupted to 13,500 connections, a second source of water means being able to sleep better at night.

“We are trying to bring reliability to our customer base,” said Deck, general manager of the water district.

Read more in Steve Scauzillo’s story WATER.