Above from left: Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts General Manager Robert Ferrante; Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil; U.S. Rep. Grace Napolitano; U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla; and Metropolitan board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr.

Metropolitan’s second annual One Water Awards ceremony earlier this month showcased four projects in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties that will together save more than 200 million gallons of water annually.

Funded by Metropolitan’s Water Savings Incentive Program and Turf Replacement Program, the projects recognized at the May 2 event at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles feature major improvements to water management operations and equipment. The highlighted projects capture and reuse condensation from air conditioning and heating systems (California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson), recycle irrigation runoff (Altman Specialty Plants in Perris), spotlight sustainable landscaping (the Jamacha Park Homeowners Association in El Cajon) and integrate more efficient irrigation systems (El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana).

“Extreme drought and climate change require us to think differently about how we use water,” said Metropolitan board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. “The water-saving projects developed by these four organizations are great examples of the actions that must be taken to adapt to our changing climate and store water for use when we need it.”

Read the press release and watch the event.

A benefit-cost analysis of the state’s proposal to modernize its water delivery system for millions of Californians was released earlier this month by the California Department of Water Resources. The analysis of the Delta Conveyance Project finds that the proposed project would create billions of dollars in benefits for communities, including reliable water supplies, climate change adaptation, earthquake preparedness and improved water quality. For every dollar spent on the project, $2.20 in benefits would be generated. In addition to the benefit-cost analysis, an updated $20.1 billion project cost estimate also was released.

“The information released today on the cost estimate and benefit-cost analysis of the proposed Delta Conveyance Project is critical for water agencies across the state, including Metropolitan, to evaluate investment options to ensure our communities have reliable water supplies for generations to come,” said Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil.

Read Metropolitan’s statement and DWR’s press release.

­As part of Water Awareness Month in May, Metropolitan highlighted its commitment to delivering reliable, high-quality water through a number of activities and events, including hosting the One Water Awards on Tap Water Day (May 2) and Drinking Water Week (May 5-11).

Prior to the May 14 board meeting, a banner commemorating the numerous first-place awards Metropolitan has received for Best Tasting Water at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition was unveiled in the Board Room. In celebration of Drinking Water Week, and in partnership with the American Water Works Association and WeTap, we spotlighted public drinking fountains across Southern California as a sustainable source of high-quality drinking water. Watch our Drinking Water Week video.

In the latest effort aimed at continuing to work together to find sustainable, cooperative solutions to managing the Colorado River, Metropolitan staff and leadership, including Chair Ortega and Directors Gloria Cordero and Linda Ackerman, recently toured the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation and lands straddling the California-Arizona border south of Parker Dam. As part of the May 17 visit, the group learned about CRIT’s conservation projects such as the installation of new drip irrigation systems as well as efforts to restore and protect native plants and wildlife and Headgate Rock Dam, constructed to provide water for the CRIT irrigation system.

CRIT Chairwoman Amelia Flores, pictured above in the blue shirt, also met with the group, expressing gratitude for the partnership and prospect of increased collaboration with Metropolitan. CRIT leadership plans to tour Metropolitan’s service area later this year.

Metropolitan recognized for communications, public outreach, dam safety, event planning

Metropolitan’s exceptional work on several projects is being lauded by national organizations, including first place recognition from the National Association of Government Communicators for an animated 30-second Public Service Announcement on conservation. In addition, NAGC presented Metropolitan with three other awards for outreach work.

Metropolitan’s dedication to public safety and emergency planning was recognized by the United States Society on Dams with the presentation of two prestigious awards to our engineering team. In addition, the California Association of Public Information Officials presented Metropolitan with the Excellence in Public Information and Communications award for its work on the Grace F. Napolitano Pure Water Southern California Innovation Center dedication event in November 2023.

Above from left: Metropolitan External Affairs Group Manager Sue Sims at the NAGC awards ceremony; Metropolitan Program Manager for Dam Safety Initiatives Bashar Sudah, Senior Engineering Technician Stacia Schannep and Chief Engineer John Bednarski with USSD Public Safety, Security, and Emergency Management Award; and Member Services and Public Outreach Administrative Assistant III Tuannee Holmes and Principal Public Affairs Representative Elisa Mendez at the CAPIO awards ceremony.