The board of directors unanimously elected Jennifer DeMeo to serve as board president, making her the first woman in the district’s history to lead the board. She was officially seated at the Dec. 7, 2021 meeting.

FPUD turned 100 years old in June 2022 and to date, has had only two other women serve on the board: Pat Knock, who served from 1996-98, and Mary McNeil, who served from 1998-2002. McNeil served as vice president in 2000.

“I am excited to serve our ratepayers in this new role and to be the first woman to lead our board,” DeMeo said at the time, after being named. “It’s an honor. And I want to enhance community outreach.”

The tiny Fallbrook water district was formed on June 5, 1922 by residents who wanted to serve water from local area wells along the San Luis Rey River. It covered only 500 acres.

Then Fallbrook began to grow. As it grew, so did the need for more water and FPUD responded by developing additional groundwater supplies from both the San Luis Rey and the Santa Margarita rivers. Growth and agriculture grew more, and flourished.

Fast forward to 2020: FPUD expanded to 35,000 customers across 44 square miles. In June of 2022, FPUD had an open-to-the-public celebration on district grounds. It highlighted area history, had kid-friendly activities, local food, water games and local entertainment.

Accomplishments since she joined the board

Since DeMeo was first elected to the board in 2016, FPUD made great strides on resolving a 70-year-old legal fight to use local, cheaper water from the Santa Margarita River. FPUD had lost rights to that water during the fight and had to buy expensive, imported water instead. But now, local water has been flowing from Fallbrook taps since late 2021, giving rate relief from escalating imported water costs.

Also under DeMeo’s tenure, the board permanently preserved the 1,384 acres of hiking trails along the Santa Margarita River, and ensured public access and the use of the trails in perpetuity.

In the 70s, 80s and 90s, the district and its population were growing and water demands were increasing. But since then, due to droughts, water demands and sales decreased dramatically. Since pipes and infrastructure still have to be maintained, this put pressure on Fallbrook water rates and shifted FPUD’s focus on controlling rising imported water costs.

To mitigate this, FPUD switched wholesalers on Jan. 1, 2024, buying imported water from Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County and detaching from the San Diego County Water Authority. The move, though politically charged and legally complicated, began saving $3 – 4 million per year.

“Our board is aligned on this issue,” DeMeo said at the time, in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We hear the pleas from customers and as ratepayers ourselves, we feel the pinch, especially during this financially challenging pandemic.”

FPUD’s detachment proposal was approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, which is governed by local and appointed officials. It later went to a vote of FPUD ratepayers and was overwhelmingly approved, with 96% of Fallbrook voters supporting the wholesaler switch.

DeMeo joined the board in Nov. 2016. She is FPUD’s representative on the Association of California Water Agencies JPIA insurance board, and has been since 2018. JPIA stands for Joint Powers Insurance Authority. In addition to being an insurance provider, JPIA provides risk management and a wide variety of training.

She also served on the ACWA Region 10 Board from 2024 to 2026,

The longtime Fallbrook resident moved here from Escondido to live in the town she describes as “out of the way, with a village feel.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies from Guilford College in North Carolina.

At the time of this writing, she was working to publish her inspirational nonfiction work about keeping faith through adversity. She is also active as a youth volunteer in the Fallbrook community.