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Lisa Marie Harris-CFO of the Year-San Diego Business Journal

Water Authority Finance Director Lisa Marie Harris is CFO of the Year

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San Diego County Water Authority Finance Director Lisa Marie Harris has been named CFO of the Year in the Public Sector category by the San Diego Business Journal.

Harris has served as director of finance and treasurer for the Water Authority since May 2014, capping 30 years of experience in both public and private finance. In her current role, she is responsible for overseeing the Water Authority’s $1.98 billion debt portfolio, a $503 million investment portfolio, the development of the biannual $1.7 billion operating budget, and setting annual rates and charges.

Reducing costs for water ratepayers

“The San Diego Business Journal could not have selected a better example of dedicated public service than Lisa Marie Harris,” said Water Authority General Manager Sandra L. Kerl. “Over the past seven years, Lisa Marie has led strategic initiatives that have improved the financial health of the Water Authority, benefitting our member agencies and the region’s ratepayers, while demonstrating leadership for employees who provide essential water services to San Diego County.”

CFO of the Year

Each year, the San Diego Business Journal honors the financial executives with its CFO of the Year Awards that recognize contributions to growth, leadership, and community involvement. A panel of independent judges, drawn from the region’s financial leaders, selected the 2022 candidates.

Lisa Marie Harris-CFO of the Year-San Diego Business Journal

During the peak of the pandemic, she advocated for refinancing Water Authority debt and then timed the market to minimize costs for the agency. Harris’ financial savvy and keen sense of timing saved the region $48 million, which will be applied to future rate cycles. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Harris and finance team minimize water rate increases

Harris’ sustained excellence and financial acumen have been critical to minimizing wholesale water rate increases despite inflationary pressures on energy, chemicals, and other materials.  In addition, she is helping to lead agency initiatives to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability, reliability, and affordability.

“I am honored to receive this recognition, which reflects the work of the entire Water Authority Finance Department team,” said Harris. “It’s also important to recognize our Board of Directors, which provides strategic direction and ultimately makes the difficult decisions to balance all of the complex factors necessary to sustain water supplies for San Diego County.”

Among her recent accomplishments, Harris led the Water Authority’s successful efforts to earn strong credit ratings from the three major U.S. rating agencies. High ratings allow the agency to optimize its debt portfolio and minimize the cost of financing vital water reliability projects, which reduces long-term costs.

Debt refinancing saves region millions of dollars

During the peak of the pandemic, she advocated for refinancing Water Authority debt and then timed the market to minimize costs for the agency. Harris’ financial savvy and keen sense of timing saved the region $48 million, which will be applied to future rate cycles.

Lisa Marie Harris-CFO of the Year-San Diego Business Journal

“I am honored to receive this recognition, which reflects the work of the entire Water Authority Finance Department team,” said Harris. “It’s also important to recognize our Board of Directors, which provides strategic direction and ultimately makes the difficult decisions to balance all of the complex factors necessary to sustain water supplies for San Diego County.” Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

CFO of the Year has extensive public service experience

Prior to joining the Water Authority, Harris served as chief deputy treasurer for the County of San Diego Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office; executive director of California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission; assistant deputy airport director for the City and County of San Francisco – San Francisco International Airport; and senior vice president for Siebert Brandford Shank LLC.

Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. Harris is a past executive board member of the Debt and Nominations Committees for the Government Finance Officers Association; past executive board member for Women in Public Finance; and founding member and vice president for the San Diego Chapter of Women in Public Finance.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria appointed Harris to the City of San Diego Employees Retirement board in May 2021, and she serves on the Investment Committee. Harris was recently appointed to the board of directors of San Diego-based Wakeland Housing Corporation, which develops affordable housing in California.

Water Authority Finance Director Lisa Marie Harris Celebrated as CFO of the Year

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March 25, 2022 – San Diego County Water Authority Finance Director Lisa Marie Harris has been named CFO of the Year in the Public Sector category by The San Diego Business Journal.

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Why Californians Have Been Saving Less Water in 2022

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Soumya Karlamangla

The latest figures on California’s water conservation are in, and they’re pretty dismal.

Despite calls to reduce consumption during our punishing drought, Californians used 2.6 percent more water in January compared with the same month in 2020, according to state data. The figures for February and March are unlikely to be much better.

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San Joaquin County Agricultural Industry Has Avoided Worst of California’s Drought

/in , , /by /Recordnet.comby Aaron Leathley

San Joaquin County has avoided the worst impacts of the drought, which has cost California $1.7 billion and more than 14,000 jobs, a recent report found.

Surface water conditions in the San Joaquin Valley are less severe than during the 2012-16 drought, and are better in the north valley than in the south, the report by University of California researchers found.

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The Deceptively Simple Plan to Replenish California’s Groundwater

/in , , /by /National Geographicby Alejandra Borunda

From afar, the rows of knobby grapevines blend into the landscape of pink-blossomed almond trees and fragrant citrus. But get up close and you’ll see something strange: The trunks of the vines are standing in several inches of glistening, precious water.

These grapes, at the Kearney Agricultural Research Center in California’s San Joaquin Valley, are part of a grand experiment that many hope will help solve the state’s deepening water crisis.

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New EPA Regional Administrator Tackles Water Needs with a Wealth of Experience and $1 Billion in Federal Funding

/in , , /by /Western Water (Water Education Foundation)by Douglas E. Beeman

Martha Guzman recalls those awful days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible time.”

She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay for it. Guzman called it the “absolutely greatest opportunity.”

Guzman talked with Western Water about how her past experiences are informing her work at EPA, some of the top priorities in EPA Region 9 and how the federal bipartisan infrastructure funding law is providing a unique opportunity to address the region’s water needs, including for tribal nations and disadvantaged communities.

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LADWP Water Conservation Rebates Increase Amid Drought

/in , , /by /NBC 4by City News Service

Amid a historic drought in California, water conservation rebates were increased by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Thursday, offering residential customers $500 rebates for high-efficiency clothes-washer purchases and $250 for water-efficient toilet purchases.

The rebates were previously $400 for high-efficiency washers, which use up to 55% less water than standard ones. According to the DWP, the more efficient appliances can reduce water use by more than 11,000 gallons per year.

DWP’s rebates for water-efficient toilets were previously $150. Rebate eligible toilets use more than 30% less water than standard models.

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State Allocates Another $29.8 Million to Friant-Kern Repairs

/in , , /by /The Porterville Recorder

On Thursday, the State Department of Water Resources, DWR, announced it second round of allocation for the ongoing repairs of the Friant-Kern Canal, this time allocating $29.8 million.

In November of last year, DWR announced an initial allocation of $39.2 million for the Friant-Kern Canal repairs. The funds being allocated by DWR were included in the state budget.

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Climate Change is Intensifying the Global Water Cycle

/in , , /by /Discoverby Theo Nicitopoulos

Human-induced climate change is warming the planet and, in turn, enabling our atmosphere to hold more moisture. The magnitude and extent of this shift are challenging to see on a global scale, but its effects on local weather are much more noticeable: Greater evaporation in some regions and increased precipitation in others has already driven more frequent and intense droughts and rainfall — with the risk of more extreme weather events looming in the near future.

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Legal Aspects of Groundwater Recharge: Do We Need a Groundwater Recharge Ethic?

/in , /by /Maven's Notebook

Groundwater is one of the world’s most important natural resources, but groundwater management has traditionally been governed by lax and uneven legal regimes which tend to focus on the extraction of groundwater or groundwater quality, rather than groundwater recharge.

In a January 2022 webinar from Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment, Dave Owen, professor at UC Hastings School of Law in San Francisco, discusses the many human activities that can affect groundwater recharge, the existing legal doctrines that affect groundwater recharge, occasionally by design but usually inadvertently; and how more intentional and effective systems of groundwater-recharge law can be constructed.

 

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