March 24, 2022
State, Local Leaders Make Call for Increased Conservation as
Drought Worsens
Above, from left: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Assistant Director of Water Resources Delon Kwan, Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil, California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot and Metropolitan board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray.

Below, from left: Theodore Payne Executive Director Evan Meyer, Hagekhalil, Crowfoot, Gray and Kwan plant California natives in a demonstration garden. 
California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot joined leaders from Metropolitan and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Monday to sound the alarm on the severity of the drought – now in its third year – and offer residents tips and rebates to help them conserve.

“We all need to do our part to conserve water and use it as efficiently as possible—and make this our way of life," said Crowfoot at the media event at the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers & Native Plants in Sun Valley. Read the press release.

The call for Southern Californians to save more water comes after the California Department of Water Resources’ announcement last week to decrease the State Water Project allocation to 5 percent.

“Unfortunately, so far the level of conservation we’re seeing from the public is not matching the severity of these conditions. We all need to take this drought more seriously and significantly step up our water-saving efforts to help preserve our dropping storage levels and ensure we have the water we need into the summer and fall," said General Manager Adel Hagekhalil. Read his full statement.

Visit bewaterwise.com and saveourwater.com for more information on how you can save water.
Metropolitan Increases Call for Conservation with $10.5 Million Investment in Public Outreach
Earlier this month, Metropolitan’s board approved a $10.5 million agreement to expand advertising and outreach efforts to increase public awareness of the drought and the need for conservation. The multilingual campaign will bring the conservation message to radio, digital, social media and outdoor advertising platforms through a three-year agreement for media placement services with GP Generate, a minority-owned, small business advertising agency based in Los Angeles. Read the press release.
Next Steps Taken on Integrated Resources Plan
The Metropolitan board's Integrated Resources Plan Special Committee on Tuesday unanimously voted to recommend adoption of the 2020 IRP Regional Needs Assessment. View the report and key findings for imported and local supplies, storage, retail demand, demand management, and the State Water Project Dependent Area. Metropolitan’s board will consider adoption of the findings at its April monthly meeting, paving the way to move into the One Water implementation phase.
Metropolitan Wins Silver for Best Tasting Tap Water in the U.S.
Metropolitan's tap water is among the best-tasting in the nation, according to a panel of judges at the 32nd annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting competition, featuring nearly 100 entries of water sourced from five continents.

Metropolitan garnered second place in the municipal water category. The district's 2022 silver-medal water was imported from the Colorado River at Lake Havasu via Metropolitan’s Colorado River Aqueduct and safely treated with a state-of-the-art ozone process at the Robert B. Diemer Water Treatment Plant in Yorba Linda. As it leaves the plant, it receives a small amount of chlorine disinfection to ensure continued quality and safety throughout the distribution system. Read the press release.
Metropolitan Names First-Ever Chief Sustainability, Resiliency, Innovation Officer and Chief Equal Employment Opportunity Officer
Environmental leader and former Los Angeles infrastructure director Liz Crosson has been selected to help Metropolitan implement an aggressive agenda to reduce its carbon footprint and strengthen its resiliency to climate change. After a six-month search process, Crosson will serve as the district’s first chief sustainability, resiliency and innovation officer, a new position that will report to Metropolitan’s General Manager Adel Hagekhalil beginning March 28. Read the press release.

Jonaura Wisdom, deputy chief of civil rights, racial equity and inclusion for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, will begin leading Metropolitan’s EEO Office as the district's first-ever chief Equal Employment Opportunity Officer on April 18. Wisdom will help implement a suite of changes that builds and reaffirms a workplace culture of inclusion, respect, safety and accountability. Read the press release.