Karen L. Tachiki, who had been a lead attorney on Colorado River matters for the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will return to the agency as the next general
counsel, the district announced today.

Tachiki, who previously served as assistant general counsel for the regional water
importer and wholesaler from November 1988 to July 2000, succeeds Jeff Kightlinger, who was
named Metropolitan general manager last February.

As general counsel, Tachiki will lead Metropolitan’s legal staff and consulting attorneys;
direct its legal strategies in pending and potential litigation; and protect the district’s interests in
contracts and other legal matters. Tachiki will start at Metropolitan Feb. 5.

“Karen’s legal expertise and well-rounded experiences in water matters over the past
25 years made her the standout candidate,” said Metropolitan board Chairman Timothy Brick.
“We welcome her back into the Metropolitan family and look forward to once again having her
legal leadership and guidance as we rise to meet future water quality and supply challenges.”

In accepting the position, Tachiki said she looked forward to returning and leading
Metropolitan’s legal staff, where she had honed her legal prowess from 1981 to 2000.

“It is an interesting time to return to Metropolitan,” Tachiki said. “Because the slate has
been cleared of many long-standing, contentious issues, there is a window of opportunity to work
within the new partnerships formed to implement concrete solutions for issues involving the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta and Colorado River.”

After a widespread search, Metropolitan’s Board of Directors selected Tachiki as the next
general counsel. Metropolitan’s general counsel, general manager and auditor are appointed by,
and report directly to the district’s board.

Tachiki has been chief counsel of the Southern California Association of Governments
since January 2003, where she also has served as SCAG’s director of government and public
affairs since April 2006. In those positions, she has been responsible for SCAG’s day-to-day
legal affairs, while overseeing its legislative, communications and member relations programs.

Previously, she was principal resources manager for McGuire Environmental
Consultants, Inc., from July 2000 to January 2003.

During her prior Metropolitan tenure, dating back to when she first joined the district
legal staff as a deputy general counsel in April 1981, Tachiki worked on U.S. Supreme Court
matters related to Colorado River supplies for Native American reservations as well as
representing Metropolitan in negotiations that led to the development of key settlement terms
that served as the basis for California’s 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement along the
Colorado River.

She also was instrumental in negotiating Metropolitan’s landmark 1988 conservation
agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District and the district’s agreement with Palo Verde
Irrigation District for a test land-fallowing program. In addition, she played a key legal role in
Metropolitan’s agreement with Arizona entities, establishing a precedent for an agency in one
state to store water in another state’s groundwater basins.

Tachiki earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and law degree from the
University of California at Los Angeles.

A member of the Japanese Bar Association, Tachiki is former chair of the Colorado River
Water Users Association’s resolutions committee. She has served as a member of the National
Water Resource Association’s resolutions committee and the legal affairs committee of the
Association of California Water Agencies.

Tachiki, who was born in San Diego, resides with her husband, Martin, in Los Angeles.
They have three children.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a cooperative of 26 cities and water agencies serving 18 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage, and other resource-management programs.