Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The Bureau of Reclamation announced this week it will award a $26.2 million large-scale water recycling grant to Pure Water Southern California, a regional water recycling project being developed by Metropolitan and Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. The new grant comes on top of $99.2 million in federal funds awarded to the project in May. Reclamation also announced funding for other recycling projects across the Southwest as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s new Large-Scale Water Recycling Program, launched in 2023 with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g5eWFv5A

This week’s Water Champion is Houman Emami, the resident engineer for a project that will help increase reliability in the face of drought and climate change for communities in the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley. Houman Emami is the resident engineer for the first of four projects in the Inland Empire that will increase the resiliency and reliability of Metropolitan’s water supplies in areas that can currently only receive water from one source - the State Water Project. The Wadsworth Pumping Plant Eastside Pipeline Intertie project will install 600 feet of 96-inch diameter pipeline and infrastructure to connect Diamond Valley Lake’s Wadsworth Pumping Plant to the Inland Feeder, allowing for continuous pumping of stored water in DVL uphill to the Rialto Pipeline. This project, when combined with three others, will provide access to an additional source of water from DVL to the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Three Valleys Municipal Water District and Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, which saw emergency water restrictions in the last drought. As resident engineer, Houman and his team ensure that the contractor complies with contract requirements, as well as confirm quality assurance, and monitor safety and environmental compliance. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2025. #WaterChampions

A shoutout to these California State Polytechnic University-Pomona students who are putting their studies into practice with a Direct Potable Reuse treatment system project. It was a pleasure to host them recently at #PureWaterSoCal. Thanks to Associate Engineer Alan Ronn for the informative technical discussion. #TeacherTuesday #RecycledWater

Es hora de decir adiós al pasto. Porque te mereces algo mejor. Termina con tu césped y dale la bienvenida a un hermoso jardín California Friendly? de bajo consumo de agua. Para más sugerencias y reembolsos, visite bewaterhttps://lnkd.in/gQ-Vx6Wi. #Adiósalpasto #bewaterwise

On this #VeteransDay, we salute those who have defended our freedoms and democratic ideals with honor. We owe our veterans our deepest gratitude.

Meet our Water Champion of the week, Eduardo Garcia. As an inspection trip manager, he plays a crucial role in educating the public about where their water comes from. Eduardo plans and leads one- to three-day educational inspection trips so the public can learn more about the Colorado River Aqueduct, State Water Project and Southern California’s water infrastructure by actually seeing the facilities. He works with Metropolitan’s board members and member agencies to coordinate the trips, which includes researching routes and schedules, preparing customized presentations, arranging for guest speakers, and managing trip logistics. In May 2024, Eduardo led Metropolitan’s first-ever Spanish-language inspection trip. Eduardo uses his 20 years of experience at Metropolitan, including his previous role as a chemist at our Water Quality Laboratory, to lead discussions on California’s water challenges and solutions. He also shares insights on Metropolitan’s priorities and initiatives to create engaging learning experiences. #WaterChampions

Congratulations to Metropolitan's Chief Information Security Officer Jake Margolis, CISSP for being recognized by Cyber Defense Magazine as a Top Global CISO winner. Thank you, Jake, for your dedication to cybersecurity excellence.

Collaboration to Help Combat Climate Change! MWDOC, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, and the California Project WET hosted a water education teacher workshop for 6th – 12th grade educators on climate change and its impact on California’s water resources. Of those who attended, 20 teachers and four (4) water agency staff were certified in Project WET curriculum and learned about connections to careers in water. #OCisWaterSmart #ProjectWet #education #teachers || Learn more about MWDOC’s water education efforts. https://lnkd.in/gC3-J_2Q

Celebrating #GlobalDiversityAwarenessMonth with a special focus on our water quality laboratory employees. With over a dozen languages spoken here, we're inspired by the unity in our diversity. From English and Tagalog to Mandarin, Spanish, and Vietnamese - our strength lies in our differences and our commitment to providing high-quality, reliable water supplies to our communities. #50years #waterquality

Meet this week's Water Champion, Margaret Spoo-Chupka, a senior biologist in Metropolitan's water quality lab. Margaret plays a crucial role in monitoring for issues that might affect the quality of our water. Margaret monitors Metropolitan’s aqueducts and reservoirs for cyanobacteria and algae. These organisms have the potential to clog filters, produce taste and odor compounds, and produce toxins. These issues can impact operations at water treatment plants. The cyanobacteria and algae monitoring program at Metropolitan aims to reduce impacts these organisms can have on our service area operations and recreational activities at our reservoirs. The monitoring data is used to make decisions about how we manage our system to ensure the safety and highest quality of our water supplies. #WaterChampions #WomeninWater #CAWater #WorkerMonday