Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD or more frequently “Met”) is the largest water wholesaler in the country, supplying water to 14 cities and 12 other municipal-level water districts. The district’s service area encompasses parts of six counties — Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura — and serves 19 million people, about half the population of the state of California. MWD was formed by the state a century ago to deliver Colorado River water to the region but now also brings Northern California water to Southern California as well. 

A 38-member board district represents all 26 member agencies (some of which have multiple representatives due to much larger populations). Currently board members as of January 2024 include:

  • City of Anaheim 

    • Stephen J. Faessel

  • City of Beverly Hills

    • Barry D. Pressman

  • City of Burbank

    • Marsha Ramos

  • Calleguas Municipal Water District

    • Jacque McMillan

  • Central Basin Municipal Water District

    • Arturo Chacon

    • Juan Garza

  • City of Compton

    • Jacque McMillan

  • Eastern Municipal Water District

    • Jacque McMillan

  • Foothill Municipal Water District

    • Garry E. Bryant

  • City of Fullerton

    • Fred Jung

  • City of Glendale

    • Ardy Kassakhian

  • Inland Empire Utilities Agency

    • Michael Camacho (Vice Chair, Communications)

  • Las Virgenes Municipal Water District

    • Glen Peterson

  • City of Long Beach

    • Gloria Cordero

  • City of Los Angeles

    • Miguel Angel Luna

    • Carl E. Douglas

    • Matt Petersen

    • Tracy M. Quinn

    • Nancy Sutley (Vice Chair, Climate Action)

  • Municipal Water District of Orange County

    • Linda Ackerman

    • Larry D. Dick

    • Dennis Erdman

    • Karl Seckel

  • City of Pasadena

    • Cynthia Kurtz

  • San Diego County Water Authority

    • Lois Fong-Sakai (Secretary)

    • S. Gail Goldberg (Vice Chair, Finance)

  • City of San Fernando

    • Adán Ortega, Jr. (Chair)

  • City of San Marino

    • John T. Morris

  • City of Santa Ana

    • Thai Viet Phan

  • City of Santa Monica

    • Judy Abdo (Vice Chair, Accountability)

  • Three Valleys Municipal Water District

    • David D. De Jesus

  • City of Torrance

    • Russell Lefevre

  • Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District

    • Anthony Fellow

  • West Basin Municipal Water District

    • Gloria D. Gray

    • Desi Alvarez

  • Western Municipal Water District of Riverside County

    • Brenda Dennstedt

Power Dynamics

By the time MWD celebrates its centennial in 2028, its mission will be radically different from the agency it was formed to be 100 years ago. No longer the power broker whose decisions resulted in environmentally damaging policies for the American West, the new MWD has emerged as a conservation leader, a key negotiator in planning a new future for the Colorado River, where agencies must reduce their use by 14 percent. This shift — from transporting water hundreds of miles to sourcing recycled wastewater locally — will require more holistic thinking about a more resilient future, along with a different relationship to the communities MWD serves.

These changes have coincided with the 2021 naming of a new general manager, Adel Hagekhalil, a former general manager of LA city’s Bureau of Street Services who is seen as a bridge-builder, and new leadership on the board heavily focused on climate, conservation, and underserved communities, including LA city appointees like Tracy Quinn of Heal the Bay and LADWP chief sustainability officer Nancy Sutley, who heads MWD’s new climate committee. In 2023, Adán Ortega, who has long worked with rural water districts, became the first Latino chair. Over the last few years, the agency has also faced multiple accusations from workers of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Ortega heard the concerns and promised reform, as did Hagekhalil.

How to Make A Difference

Despite its sheer size, MWD board meetings have not attracted the same level of public comment as other large agencies. But that’s not likely to be the case for long. The work of advocacy groups has become clearly evident in new appointments to MWD’s board as well as in the push to pursue water recycling programs, where advocates urged the board to use state money and union labor to build the new facility. With a conservation plan essentially mandated by the Colorado River agreement, pressure must now be applied to MWD to continue the agency’s pivot away from importing water. 

The first big test is coming: the Delta Conveyance Project, a proposed series of tunnels and pumps that would draw water from the Sacramento River to the south. It’s being pitched by Governor Gavin Newsom as a necessary climate resilience tool to bolster the state’s aging water infrastructure. But the Delta project is staunchly opposed by a broad coalition of environmental groups, who, among other concerns, claim it’s not a future-proof solution as it relies upon a watershed that’s already on the verge of collapse. There are other investments that should clearly be prioritized. This battle will become highly politicized as many major state water projects, including the proposed Delta tunnel, rely on large wholesalers like MWD for buy-in. Ultimately the board needs more members who are focused on local, resilient solutions instead of prioritizing imports — which is not an easy sell for some municipalities and agencies.

Key Advocacy Groups To Follow

Sierra Club

LA Waterkeeper

NRDC

Council for Watershed Health

Pacific Institute