Deja Vu: Another takeover bid at Montecito Sanitary 

Back in 2016, in the midst of a severe drought and water rationing in Montecito, Floyd Wicks, a former CEO of one of the largest investor-owned water companies in the United States, successfully ran for the Montecito Water District, vowing to start recycling the community’s wastewater. Wicks was on a winning slate of two, backed by a surprising $80,000 from wealthy donors — a lot of money for a small special district race. The candidates’ campaign mailer featured a photo of a spacecraft with the words, “What does the International Space Station have that the Montecito Water District does not? The answer is recycled water.” Wicks has been on the water board for 10 years, but there is still no wastewater recycling for irrigation in this wealthy enclave of one-acre lots, large estates and luxury golf courses. In 2024, after studying a host of alternatives, the board put “any further pursuit of recycled water” on indefinite hold because of the high expense. Wicks now favors shu