Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Honored to take part in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to improve long-term water management in the Colorado River Basin. Cheers to collaboration!

Are you passionate about sustainability and resource management? Join our team as a year-round intern and help our efforts in advancing Metropolitan's Climate Action Plan. College and graduate students are welcome to apply by June 15.

This week’s Water Champion is Bonita Leung, a senior deputy auditor who evaluates workflows and recommends process improvements at Metropolitan. In honor of the recent Internal Audit Month, we are proud to recognize our internal auditors for their dedication and contributions.

Bonita focuses on understanding processes, collaborating with teams across Metropolitan, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. She reviews workflows, evaluates internal controls and recommends process improvements for departments across the district.

Although the value of internal audit isn’t always immediately visible, the impact of the work continues to motivate Bonita, who has been with Metropolitan for more than four years. This past year, she contributed to the Process Matters Initiative, which encourages staff across Metropolitan to contribute ideas to improve processes and procedures, by supporting management with project planning, submission reviews, and evaluation of process changes to ensure internal controls remained strong.

We had a memorable weekend at the Grace F. Napolitano Pure Water Southern California Innovation Center in Carson! Community members explored the demonstration plant's innovative water purification technology and even got to meet former Rep. Grace Napolitano. Honored to have Napolitano, a champion of recycled water throughout her career, on the public tour, held with Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. The center was named in Napolitano’s honor in 2023, making her presence on the tour especially meaningful. Stay tuned for information on our next public tour in August.

Chair Adán Ortega Jr. participated in a discussion at the United Contractors Public Work Summit in Anaheim to talk about strategies and collaborative planning, including what's ahead for Metropolitan, for our state's water future.

Good news for the West! The Bureau of Reclamation is investing $52M to upgrade Hoover Dam with new turbines built for low Lake Mead levels. These improvements could restore at least 160 megawatts of hydropower capacity and strengthen energy reliability for Nevada, Arizona and California.

Honored to welcome the Coro Southern California Fellows Program in Public Affairs during their final Water and Energy Focus Week. Fellows learned about Metropolitan's public affairs efforts, broader operations, and regional water management through insightful discussions and a tour of Pure Water Southern California.

During Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh participated in a fireside chat with Metropolitan's Asian American Employees Organization. He shared his personal journey and insights with Metropolitan employees, and was greeted by a dancing dragon spreading good fortune.

General Manager Shivaji Deshmukh highlighted the benefits of federal grants at the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries today: "Sustained federal support for grant programs that advance large-scale projects, such as Pure Water Southern California, as well as smaller local recycled water projects, is critical to helping communities and water managers prepare for the challenges of the next century. A future in which Southern California is able to reuse an even greater share of its water supply would have significant long-term benefits for water management across the West."

Metropolitan received a $125 million grant award from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Large-Scale Recycled Water Program for our Pure Water program.

▶️ Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/live/gxfbN81rpfQ?si=MzmI8RoQpdltNBTo&t=5610

GM Deshmukh was joined by Scott Cameron, acting commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation; Scott Petersen, director of Water Policy for the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority; Jennifer Patrick, program manager for The Milk River Project; and Samantha Barncastle, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance.