Water pioneer remembered

Hal Helsley monument unveiled



AHEAD OF THEIR TIME—Charles Helsley said his brother’s vision served as a guiding light for local planners. The siblings worked together on a plan to create a fusion energy source that would make water plentiful. JOHN LOESING/Acorn Newspapers

AHEAD OF THEIR TIME—Charles Helsley said his brother’s vision served as a guiding light for local planners. The siblings worked together on a plan to create a fusion energy source that would make water plentiful. JOHN LOESING/Acorn Newspapers

A monument to honor a leading pioneer in local water use will stand forever at Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility in Calabasas.

Hal Helsley, who died last year at 81, established the 25-year-old composting plant as a means to reuse the wastewater produced by homes and businesses in the far-reaching Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

“This facility is something he was very proud of,” said Thomas Helsley, his son.

The elder Helsley served for 20 years on the LVMWD board of directors and during his time in office lobbied extensively for science based and cost-effective policies in the treatment and management of local water.

A gathering of friends, family and former associates came to the composting plant on Oct. 5 and dedicated the memorial in his name.

“Hal was a visionary. He understood and embraced the concept of sustainability. He didn’t just come up with new ideas, he acted on them,” water district board member Leonard Polan said.

Hal Helsley

Hal Helsley

In 2000 Helsley was appointed to the L.A. County Regional Planning Commission by then-county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, serving on the commission for 13 years.

In 2004, Helsley was named Commissioner of the Year by the California County Planning Commissioners Association. He sat on many Los Angeles County committees that helped shape the use of the Santa Monica Mountains, including the Scenic Corridor Committee and the North Area Plan, the central planning document for the county.

Born Sept. 9, 1936, Helsley and his brother Charles worked on their family’s 17- acre lemon and avocado ranch in Vista, Calif.

In 2009 following retirement, Helsley and his brother worked with a group of physicists to form Fusion Power Corporation, a clean-energy company designed to create a sustainable power source, the implementation of which, would help solve the water delivery problem in Southern California, perhaps forever.

“What Hal taught me was to think big and don’t be inhibited by barriers that prevent you from accomplishing your goals,” said David Pedersen, LVMWD general manager.

Helsley taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 47 years. As a middle school instructor he received numerous educator awards.

Helsley and his wife, Nancy, met as camp counselors and were married in 1962. They built a home in the Santa Monica Mountains with Helsley himself doing the construction over a period of years as cash and time allowed.

The couple became active in protecting the local mountains from development and shared a passion for nature and an understanding of the earth’s natural processes.

“You’ve heard of Johnny Appleseed? Well Hal was Johnny Acorn,” his wife said.

“He was so very proud, so very interested in wanting to solve problems.”

Helsley spent years working with neighbors and associations to foster the care and stewardship of developing communities. His efforts helped form the City of Calabasas.

“ Hal was a Renaissance man,” said Glen Peterson, a member of the Metropolitan Water District board of directors and Helsley’s partner in getting the composting facility up and running in 1994.

“His accomplishments in our community are many and we’ve all benefited from his involvement,” Peterson said.