Tag Archive for: Adán Ortega

L to R (back row): Burbank Conservation Program Specialist Amy Tremmel, Metropolitan board Vice Chair Michael Camacho, Chair Ortega, Director Stephen Faessel, Director Desi Alvarez, Cucamonga Valley Water District President Randall James Reed and Metropolitan mascot Admiral Splash, with attending student artists. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Student poster winners

San Diego County Student Artwork Featured in 2025 Calendar

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Four San Diego County student artists from four member water agencies are among the 37 Southern California students whose artwork will appear in the 2025 Metropolitan Water District’s 36th annual “Water Is Life” Student Art Calendar.

The creative artwork of 37 kindergarten through 12th-grade students, including the students from San Diego County, was recognized for being selected at the district’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters in December.

The 2025 calendar features art from 37 students in Southern California, including four from San Diego County. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The 2025 calendar features art from 37 students in Southern California, including four from San Diego County. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

During the first in-person calendar celebration in five years following virtual recognition ceremonies, the artists, their families, and local educators heard from Metropolitan Chair Adan Ortega, board director Brenda Dennstedt, and other student artists featured in the calendar.

Students also met five water mascots and took photos with them.

MWD board chairman Adán Ortega, Jr. thanked the students, their family and friends, and the many educators who support the annual contest.

San Diego student art featured in July and August 2025

Charlotte Chatham's winning artwork is featured on the July 2025 page in the calendar. 2025 calendar

Charlotte Chatham’s winning artwork is featured on the July 2025 page in the calendar.

Charlotte Chatham, a talented eighth-grade student at La Mesa Arts Academy, represents the Helix Water District in the 2025 calendar for July 2025. Her teacher is Alison Lindsay.

Three additional winners are featured on the August 2025 page.

Kenziee Bowen, Ava Fabunan, and Tristan Ong are featured in August 2025.

Kenziee Bowen, Ava Fabunan, and Tristan Ong are featured in August 2025.

Kenziee Bowen, a fourth-grade student at Carlton Oaks Elementary in Santee, represents the Padre Dam Municipal Water District. Her teacher is Amile Sicat.

Ava Fabunan, a sixth-grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Chula Vista, is the Otay Water District’s winner. Her teacher is Christina Stencil-Dare.

Ava’s creative piece highlights ways to use water wisely at home. She explains, “I thought that by making a character talking about how to conserve water, it would really inspire kids of all ages.”

Ava Fabunan's original artwork is on display with the other winners at the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles. Photo: Otay Water District

Ava Fabunan’s original artwork is on display with the other winners at the Metropolitan Water District in Los Angeles. Photo: Otay Water District

Calendars are available to Otay customers at its offices at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Boulevard in Spring Valley.

Tristan Ong, a fourth-grade student at Allen Elementary School in Bonita, represents the Sweetwater Authority. His teacher is Ellen Sinong.

 Conservation message delivered through creative talent

Winners were recognized at a celebration in December. Photo: Otay Water District

Winners were recognized at a celebration in December. Photo: Otay Water District

The “Water is Life” Student Art Calendar was created 36 years ago. It selects student art submitted from grades K through 12 to help convey vitally important water conservation messages. Member agencies submit artwork for consideration among the winners of their local competitions.

Artwork from the student winners will remain on display at Metropolitan’s downtown Los Angeles headquarters in January. The traveling artwork will visit member agencies throughout the year. The annual calendar is distributed to 13,000 recipients each year.

Water Authority Welcomes New MWD Board Chair Adán Ortega

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The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on January 26 welcomed Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. by hosting a reception for him to meet San Diego County’s community, civic and business leaders.

Ortega took the helm of  MWD’s Board on January 10 as the first Latino chair in the district’s 95-year history. In a presentation during the Water Authority’s formal Board meeting, Ortega focused on shared challenges and opportunities the two water wholesalers face in the era of climate change.

Water agencies together face challenging issues

“Past conflicts aside, I see the San Diego County experience as a model that Metropolitan and other water agencies will need to consider as we confront the changed climate. The San Diego region recognized earlier than many – more than 20 years ago – the need to invest in water supply and infrastructure improvements to ensure reliability,” said Ortega, who made formal comments during the Water Authority’s Board meeting. “The need for these investments has only become more urgent as the impacts of climate change undermine both Bay-Delta and Colorado River water supplies.”

Adán Ortega: “New class of water infrastructure and management”

Ortega also noted that “San Diego’s investments have come at a cost in the form of higher water rates, but the result has been protection against drought,” including the drought that has threatened water supplies across California for the past three years.

“We can’t escape the reality of increasing water rates among our member agencies and Metropolitan, just as San Diego had to do,” Ortega said. “With climate change, we need to envision a new class of water infrastructure and management. San Diego’s leaders and ratepayers have reckoned with rate increases to keep water flowing even with critical shortages in traditional sources of water. That’s the definition of resiliency.”

Ortega has represented the City of San Fernando on the MWD board since March 2021. He is the principal at Ortega Strategies group, a public and government relations firm based in Fullerton, and he served as Metropolitan’s vice president of external affairs from 1999 to 2005. Before representing San Fernando, he served as the City of Fullerton’s representative on the MWD Board.

As chair, Ortega said he places a strong emphasis on agency ethics and the values of diversity, equity and inclusion for Metropolitan’s board and staff. He has appointed the most diverse leadership slate in MWD’s history, including appointment of leadership positions to three of the Water Authority’s four delegates including a board vice chair and chairmanship of the agency’s finance committee. The Water Authority fourth delegate – Lois Fong-Sakai – was recently elected by her peers to serve as MWD Board secretary and parliamentarian.

“Proven consensus builder”

“With decades of experience in government service, Adán is a proven consensus builder who is ideally suited to lead Metropolitan’s diverse 26 member agencies during a period of historic transitions impacting water supply and the environment both in MWD’s service area and the Southwest,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz.

The Water Authority relies on MWD for about 13% of its water supplies, along with transporting water through the Colorado River Aqueduct to San Diego County. The Water Authority and MWD are working together on critical issues of drought and water supply planning as well as daily coordination of water deliveries.

“Water challenges in the West will continue to grow,” said Katz, “but I am confident that working together with MWD and its member agencies we can meet the needs of Southern California for generations to come.”