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Metropolitan Water District Gets a New Chief. What Changes Might Adel Hagekhalil Bring?

/in , , /by /KCRWby Steve Chiotakis

Much of Southern California’s water comes from Northern California, the Sierra snowpack, and the Colorado River. One of the agencies tasked with making that happen is the Metropolitan Water District (MWD), headquartered in downtown LA by Union Station. Nearly 19 million people across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties depend on MWD for at least some of their water supply.

Hundreds of MWD workers have a new incoming leader: Adel Hagekhalil. He’s the outgoing head of LA’s Bureau of Street Services. Before that, he was second-in-command at the city’s sanitation department.

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This Giant ‘Inland Ocean’ is Southern California’s Last Defense Against Drought

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Louis Sahagun

Mechanical engineer Brent Yamasaki set out amid the recent blistering heat wave to take stock of the giant dams, pumps and pipes that support Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County, the largest storehouse of water in Southern California.

The reservoir, which he helped build 25 years ago, is 4½ miles long and 2 miles wide and holds back nearly 800,000 acre-feet of water — so much that it would take 20,000 years to fill it with a garden hose.

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Water Is Life-poster contest-Helix Water District

Helix Water District “Water is Life” Student Poster Contest Winners

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The Helix Water District Board of Directors June 16, honored East County student artists for their winning “Water Is Life” posters in an online awards ceremony.

Southern California students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to participate in their regional water agency’s Student Poster Art Contest to increase awareness about water conservation. This year, 231 students from 17 schools within the Helix Water District submitted their posters depicting how to use water wisely.

These students took top honors in two categories:

Grades K – 3

First Place – Sofia Cardenas Loera, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Lemon Grove, Grade 3

First Place – Sofia Cardenas Loera, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Lemon Grove, Grade 3

Second Place – Tiffany An, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Second Place – Tiffany An, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Third Place – Stella Stackhouse, Avocado Elementary School, La Mesa, Grade 2

Third Place – Stella Stackhouse, Avocado Elementary School, La Mesa, Grade 2

Honorable Mention – Lucas Regimbal, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3 Contest Winners

Honorable Mention – Lucas Regimbal, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 3

Honorable Mention – Sanora Atoe, Lexington Elementary School, El Cajon, Grade 3 Contest Winners

Honorable Mention – Sanora Atoe, Lexington Elementary School, El Cajon, Grade 3

Grades 4 – 8

First Place – Kaylee Martin, Highlands Elementary School, Spring Valley, Grade 5 Contest Winners

First Place – Kaylee Martin, Highlands Elementary School, Spring Valley, Grade 5

Second Place – Valeria Ramirez, St. John of the Cross, Lemon Grove, Grade 6

Second Place – Valeria Ramirez, St. John of the Cross, Lemon Grove, Grade 6

Third Place – Hannah Maass, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Third Place – Hannah Maass, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Maddy Amezwa Cruz, Literacy First Junior Academy, El Cajon, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Maddy Amezwa Cruz, Literacy First Junior Academy, El Cajon, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Sarah Cervantes, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Honorable Mention – Sarah Cervantes, Christ Lutheran School, La Mesa, Grade 8

Winners move on to regional competition

2021 Calendar-Mina Saeed's winning entries appear on the September 2021 page. Photo: MWD

Helix Water District 2020 winner Mina Saeed’s entry appears on the September 2021 calendar page. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Winners now move on to compete with other regional winners for the opportunity to appear in the 2022 Metropolitan Water District of Southern California calendar.

Helix Water District students have been successful in recent state competition. In 2021, art from Jose Sabedra, a fourth-grader from Bostonia Language Academy in El Cajon, and Mina Saeed, also a fourth-grader at Lexington Elementary School in El Cajon, appear in the calendar. They won the 2020 Helix Water District competition.

(Editor’s note: The Helix Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

MWD Among Targets in Large-Scale Cyber-Espionage Hack Blamed on China

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Alan Suderman / Associated Press

A cyber-espionage campaign blamed on China was more sweeping than previously known, with suspected state-backed hackers exploiting a device meant to boost internet security to penetrate the computers of critical U.S. entities.

Among the suspected targets was the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people and operates some of the largest treatment plants in the world.

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Water Authority Congratulates New MWD GM Adel Hagekhalil

/in , , /by /Water News Network Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

On June 8, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors voted to approve Adel Hagekhalil as the next General Manager replacing Jeff Kightlinger, who announced his retirement. Hagekhalil is scheduled to meet with the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors at its June 24 board meeting.

The San Diego County Water Authority issued the following statement by Board Chair Gary Croucher:

“It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Chairwoman Gloria Gray and the MWD Board of Directors on the selection of Adel Hagekhalil to serve as the district’s next General Manager. Adel is exactly the kind of person and visionary leader Southern California needs, especially as we experience another period of sustained drought, to help guide MWD as it faces important near- and long-term planning decisions impacting its water supply resources and water rates and charges.

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After a Bitter Fight, Southern California’s Water Kingpin Has a New Leader

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has hired Adel Hagekhalil as its next general manager, following a bitter power struggle over the future of an agency that delivers hundreds of billions of gallons each year from the Colorado River and Northern California to a region that otherwise wouldn’t have nearly enough water to support 19 million people.

Hagekhalil was previously second in command at the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, where he helped develop strategies for cutting the city’s use of imported water — and therefore its reliance on Metropolitan. He said he’ll bring a shift in focus to the agency, putting more emphasis on recycling sewage water, capturing rainwater and cleaning up groundwater aquifers.

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Water Authority Congratulates MWD on Selection of New General Manager

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June 9, 2021 – “It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Chairwoman Gloria Gray and the MWD Board of Directors on the selection of Adel Hagekhalil to serve as the district’s next General Manager. Adel is exactly the kind of person and visionary leader Southern California needs, especially as we experience another period of sustained drought, to help guide MWD as it faces important near- and long-term planning decisions impacting its water supply resources and water rates and charges.

“In addition to his demonstrated skills as an agency manager and water policy leader, Adel brings to the MWD table a highly collaborative style of leadership and commitment to meet the unique needs of each of the district’s 26 member agencies. He is also committed to continuing his advocacy to address equity and environmental and social justice issues impacting Southern California’s underserved communities.

“Adel’s selection sends an important signal that Southern California is planning to rely more on sustainable local water supplies in the future, while not abandoning our commitment to the Bay-Delta and Colorado River. These include Water Authority agency projects such as San Diego’s Pure Water Project, the East County Water Purification Project, and Oceanside’s Pure Water Project.

“Importantly, Adel received strong support from employees who have worked for him, as well as from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles City Council, and other officials for whom he worked and to whom he reported. He is known by all to be an inclusive leader, a bridge-builder, and an advocate for the environment, social justice, and underserved communities. Numerous San Diego County elected officials, labor, business, and community groups joined in writing letters of support for Adel’s appointment.

“In short, Adel brings exactly the kind of experience and leadership we believe MWD needs at this time, and we look forward to continued collaboration with him.”

— Gary Croucher, Board Chair, San Diego County Water Authority

 Note: Hagekhalil is scheduled to meet with the Water Authority’s Board of Directors at its June 24 board meeting.

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Battle Over Southern California Water Czar is Clash Between Old Vision and New, Observers Say

/in , , /by /Press Telegramby Teri Sforza

The most important thing to understand: If you’re reading this, you live in a desert. And you can live in this desert because politicians, scientists and engineers have moved mountains, almost literally, to bring you life-giving water.

The latest brawl in Water World plays out on this backdrop, and what comes out of your tap may well depend on the result. Will it come from recycled waste water? Desalination plants? A giant tunnel or two under the Delta? The answers will, in large part, depend on who’s chosen to lead the gargantuan Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides water to 19 million people from Ventura County to the Mexican border.

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Troubled Waters: Extended Interview with the Imperial Irrigation District

/in , , /by /KESQ-TVby Jesus Reyes

Tina Shields, the Water Department Manager of IID, speaks on the QSA, why it was implemented, and the contention between the state and IID as water was forced from agricultural communities to urban areas.

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As Drought Worsens, Tensions Erupt Over Control of SoCal’s Largest Water Supplier

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

Southern California’s biggest water supplier has chosen a new general manager — but the selection isn’t yet final, and the fiercely contested vote is exposing deep disagreements within the powerful agency as a severe drought grips the region.

The Metropolitan Water District’s board of directors voted this month to select Adel Hagekhalil to lead the agency, The Times has learned, replacing longtime head honcho Jeff Kightlinger, who is retiring. Hagekhalil runs L.A.’s Bureau of Street Services and was previously second-in-command at the city’s sanitation department.

Metropolitan finds itself at a crossroads after 15 years under Kightlinger’s leadership. The agency delivers huge amounts of water from the Colorado River and Northern California, and has prided itself on hammering out complex deals to protect the region’s water rights and investments. But those far-flung resources are becoming less dependable as the planet heats up.

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