Providing water for Southern California is no easy task. Hydrology, political and regulatory climates, workforce issues and changing technology all play a part in getting water to the 18 million people who count on Metropolitan Water District and its 26 member agencies to supplement limited local supplies.

To ensure the reliability of the region’s water supply, Metropolitan works under a strategic plan that sets the District course in four core areas: water system and supply reliability, relationships within the community, maintaining a skilled workforce, and fiscal responsibility. The plan assures continued success and formulates a vision of where Metropolitan will be in the next 50 years.Water supply and system reliability are Metropolitan’s core focus and commitment to both have helped the region weather droughts and floods. Metropolitan leads the water industry in initiatives to ensure that future challenges and uncertainties can be effectively managed.We lead the way in developing innovative water conservation measures, exploring storage agreements that offer operational flexibility, managing our power resources, improving treatment technology and source water quality, and improving infrastructure.

This year, much of the operational focus was on switching from chlorine to ozone as a primary disinfectant in the treatment process, a change that produces better-tasting water with fewer potentially harmful byproducts. Two of the district’s five treatment plants changed to the new process in 2004-05; the remaining plants will be online by 2007.The change improved water quality by 75 percent.

Recognizing that water is a limited resource that must be used wisely, Metropolitan continued promoting its California Friendly ideal of a sustainable lifestyle. Intense public information campaigns, coupled with partnerships with nurseries and growers; incentives for builders to include conservation devices in new homes; and grants for cities and other public entities to transform water-thirsty public landscapes throughout the region has made conservation more attractive and attainable. Several homebuilders who once believed drought-tolerant landscaping was synonymous with cactus and gravel now offer front yards that use beautiful native and drought-tolerant plants, efficient irrigation systems and energy and watersaving appliances in their model home offerings.

None of Metropolitan’s initiatives would produce the results we’ve seen or continue to seek without a skilled workforce and properly managed assets.Throughout the industry, water agencies must manage and retain a highly skilled workforce. To address those issues, Metropolitan is evaluating and restructuring its programs and staffing plans; participating in internal and external audits; establishing specific performance goals; and managing an apprenticeship program that will train a new generation of engineers, operators and mechanics to keep the system running in to the future.

Much of Metropolitan’s success in accomplishing its strategic initiatives and promoting effective water policies stems from its strong alliances with water interests and a broad support base within California and among other states. Close working relationships have established clear communications among all our stakeholders, and partnerships with other public entities and water agencies provide Metropolitan significant opportunity to share common interests and invest in mutually beneficial programs.

Finally, Metropolitan’s strong financial standing and integrity are key to our successes elsewhere in the organization. With its AA+ rating from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, Metropolitan is one of the highest rated public agencies in the water industry. Capital investments and operations and maintenance expenditures are a necessary part of doing business. However, Metropolitan lives within its means by placing great emphasis on prioritizing investments and expenditures.This and our other strategies will ensure that Metropolitan continues to provide a reliable, high quality supply of water to Southern California.




Dennis B. Underwood
CEO/General Manager