december 2010 - metropolitan water district of southern …edmsidm.mwdh2o.com/idmweb/cache/mwd...

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CORPORATE RESOURCES 2-4

WATER SYSTEM OPERATIONS 5-7

WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS 8

WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 9

BAY-DELTA INITIATIVES 10

c o n t e n t s HUMAN RESOURCES 11

FINANCE 12

EXTERNAL AFFAIRS 13-14

REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 15

BUSINESS OUTREACH 16

D a t e d : D e c e m b e r 3 1 , 2 0 1 0

This report identifies the actions/activities taking place during the month that support the

objectives of the General Manager’s Fiscal Year 2010/11 Business Plan.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA STORMS

Metropolitan responds to the record rainfall experienced in the Southern California region during a week of severe storms in December. Read more on page 6, Emergency Management.

High flows in the Whitewater River

in the Desert Region.

Washed out patrol road along Colorado River Aqueduct in Desert Region

Employee clearing storm drains at Weymouth

water treatment plant.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California—General Manager’s Monthly Activity Report 2

C o r p o r a t e r e s o u r c e s g r o u p

CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN

CRA Conveyance Reliability Program—This program was established to maintain reliability of the Colorado River Aqueduct canals, tunnels, conduits, siphons, and reservoirs. Recent activities include the following:

Copper Basin Outlet Gates Repair—Final design is 97 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by February 2011.

Eagle Mountain Standby Generator Replacement—Completed final design activities.

Eagle Mountain Pumping Plant Delivery Pipe Expansion Joint Repair—Construction activities to repair leaky expansion joints on the delivery pipes are 25 percent complete and are scheduled to be completed by February 2011 during a 19-day shutdown of the CRA.

Access Covers and Water Tanks Safety Improvements—Construction is 60 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by May 2011.

Replace / Rehabilitate Projects for Conveyance and Distribution System

Conveyance and Distribution System Rehabilitation Program—This program was initiated to maintain reliable deliveries through specific repair and rehabilitation projects on Metropolitan’s pipelines, reservoirs, and control structures. Recent activities include the following:

Allen-McColloch Pipeline—Awarded construction contract to J.F. Shea Construction, Inc., and began fabrication of the new steel liner in preparation of the planned pipeline repair work, which is scheduled to take place during an 8-day shutdown in February 2011.

Box Springs Feeder Repairs—Completed the steel pipe liner fabrication in time for the 7-day shutdown planned for January 2011.

Additional Projects

Oxidation Retrofit Program—This program was established to add pre-ozonation to provide disinfection, control tastes and odors, and reduce the level of disinfection by-products in the finished water at all five of Metropolitan’s treatment plants. This program will enable Metropolitan to meet state and federal drinking water regulations and consists of multiple, staged construction contracts. With three of the five treatment plants – Jensen, Mills, and Skinner – completed and placed into service, there are two remaining plants to be completed. Recent activities for these two plants, include the following:

Diemer ORP

Ozone Facilities—Construction is 60 percent complete and is scheduled to be completed by mid-2012.

Southern California Edison 66kV Substation—Continued with startup and testing of the new electrical facilities in the switchgear and emergency buildings in preparation for the full plant shutdown scheduled for February 2011.

Weymouth ORP

Ozone Generation Building and Ozone Contactors—Final design is 91 percent complete and is scheduled to be completed by early 2011.

Switchgear—Construction is 33 percent complete and is scheduled to be completed by June 2011.

Inlet Conduit Relocation—Construction is 63 percent complete and is scheduled to be completed by April 2011.

See photo on page 3


Replace/Rehabilitate Projects for Water Treatment Plants

Treatment Plant Improvements Program—This program was initiated to maintain reliability and to improve operating efficiency of Metropolitan’s water treatment plants through specific improvement projects. Recent activities include the following:



Diemer Water Treatment Plant

Fire and Potable Water Pump Station—Construction is approximately 27 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by October 2011.

Electrical Improvements—Construction for Stage 1 is 90 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by December 2011, while final design for Stage 2 is underway and is scheduled to be complete by June 2012.

Filter Outlet Conduit Seismic Upgrades—Completed study, and began preliminary design, which is scheduled to be complete by mid-2011.

Diemer North Access Road—Construction is 58 percent complete and is scheduled to be completed by May 2011.

Weymouth Treatment Plant

Electrical Upgrades—Construction is 33 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by mid-2012.

Rapid Mix Systems—Construction is 63 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by May 2011.

Junction Structure Seismic Upgrades—Construction is 70 percent complete and is scheduled to be complete by May 2011.

F.E. Weymouth Water Treatment Plant – Junction Structure Seismic Upgrades Rebar Replacement

Diemer Water Treatment Plant – Fire and Potable Water Pump Station Tunnel Boring

Diemer ORP – Ozone Contactor Building

(Story on page 2)



Information Technology

iPad Evaluation—Staff completed an iPad® evaluation as an alternative to laptops for Board members to view Board‑related material. There were three elements of the evaluation: business case, a functional evaluation that included six directors to determine if the iPad devices would provide adequate review of Board materials and a technical evaluation conducted by IT staff. The evaluation resulted in a recommendation that the iPad is a viable and practical alternative to laptops.

BUSINESS PROCESSES


Business Improvements

Microsoft Exchange Upgrade Project—The Exchange System processes Metropolitan’s e-mail messages and provides for calendaring, contacts and tasks and supports mobile and web-based access to information from devices such as smart-phones. The Exchange Upgrade Project will update the Microsoft Exchange software to ensure system reliability by keeping the software version current. IT staff is in the process of migrating users to the new Exchange environment during the deployment phase. To date, approximately 1,000 users have been successfully transitioned to the new Exchange System. The migration process is scheduled to be substantially completed in December, with the remaining users in early 2011.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Implement Information Technology Strategic Plan

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Database Upgrades / Eagle Rock—IT staff completed software version updates to SCADA database software (Oracle) to ensure system reliability by keeping the software version current. With the completion of the database upgrade at Eagle Rock in December, the updates have been successfully completed at all locations including desert facilities (Intake, Gene, Iron, Eagle and Hinds), the Skinner, Weymouth, Jensen, Diemer, and Mills treatment plants, and Metropolitan’s Oxidation Demonstration Plant facility located in La Verne. The SCADA system is used by Water System Operations to monitor and control key water processes within Metropolitan’s conveyance, treatment and distribution systems.

IT Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity Exercise—In December, staff completed an IT Disaster Recovery / Business Continuity exercise involving key business users from Engineering, Finance, Water Quality, Legal and HR. The exercise provided live simulation of staff accessing critical applications via servers/databases located at Metropolitan's remote disaster recovery facility. The test was successfully completed and met all the objectives of the exercise, including hands-on training, validation of recovery procedures, and identifying opportunities for enhancements to the IT Disaster Recovery Plan and Procedures Guide.


W A T E R S Y S T E M O P E R A T I O N S

SYSTEM RELIABILITY

System Operations

System Operations delivered approximately 110,000 AF of water to the member agencies in December 2010, which averaged about 3,500 AF per day. This delivery was six percent higher than the quantity delivered in December 2009. Additionally, 28,000 acre-feet was delivered to Desert Water Agency and Coachella Valley Water District in exchange for their State Water Project Table A supplies.

Colorado River Aqueduct pumping was reduced from seven to five pumps on December 24, because of heavy rain that damaged Coachella’s conveyance channel to the spreading grounds, which suspended DWCV deliveries. Metropolitan water not diverted from the Colorado River in 2010 will be stored in Metropolitan’s Lake Mead Intentionally Created Surplus account.

Total imports from the SWP for December were

Conveyance / Distribution

Staff completed the coating of the Coyote Creek Pressure Control Structure. The six-week project began in November and was completed in early December. (photos below)

approximately 110,000 AF, which included deliveries into Diamond Valley Lake storage. DVL storage continued to increase to about 635,000 AF, with the addition of 37,000 AF via the Inland Feeder. Operations worked closely with the California Department of Water Resources to keep the Inland Feeder flowing despite several outages on the East Branch of the California Aqueduct. DVL storage has increased by about 250,000 AF since summer of 2010. Deliveries into regional groundwater conjunctive use programs continued at several groundwater storage connections, although all groundwater spreading deliveries were interrupted because of record rains in late December.

System Operations continues to maximize power generation whenever possible. For the month of December, Metropolitan's hydroelectric plants generated an average of 29 megawatts for a total of 19,000 MWh. Generation was reduced because of lower water deliveries.

Before coating After coating

Maintenance / Shutdowns

The Lakeview Pipeline was shutdown from December 9-16 to repair a small leak and to inspect the nearby joints for any additional needed repairs. Repairs were made at a total of three locations.

Apprenticeship Training Program

Knowledge retention activities continued in order to maintain Metropolitan’s institutional knowledge of operations and maintenance as journey-level staff move towards retirement. Staff is migrating operations manuals, technical documentation, photos and video into a comprehensive on-line retrieval system.


Emergency Management

The Southern California region experienced record rainfall during a week of severe storms in December. The Emergency Operations Center was partially activated to gather and disseminate the various activities in response to the storms. The storm runoff caused a sharp increase in turbidity (cloudiness) at DWR’s Lake Silverwood, which was being used as source water to four of Metropolitan’s five water treatment plants. An early-warning monitoring system allowed staff time to adjust chemical dosages to maintain effluent quality.

Flooding of utility substructures also disrupted Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition communications in a portion of Metropolitan’s water delivery system when a Verizon telecommunications circuit failed. As a result, on-site operators were dispatched to critical structures to monitor and manually perform flow changes. Storm water runoff also damaged patrol roads, caused minor slope failures at the Diemer plant and Garvey Reservoir, and created runoff from construction sites. Staff or contractors responded to each of these incidents to make immediate repairs. Staff is now surveying the damage to determine the need for additional repairs.

Overall, Metropolitan facilities managed well with only a modest impact during the series of large winter storms. Daily status reports were prepared to monitor emerging issues and ensure resources were appropriately addressing system priorities.

As part of normal emergency preparedness, construction staff successfully completed its annual two-pipe scenario emergency response drill. The drill consisted of two pipe breaks on the Lakeview pipeline. One was a separation repair and one was a complete removal and replacement of a steel liner.


SYSTEM RELIABILITIY

Security Management

Staff completed security system enhancements at desert pump plants, including contractor installation of video surveillance cameras at head gates for viewing from control rooms in the desert and at Eagle Rock facilities. The enhancements also supplied video monitoring for the Eagle Mountain sand trap location.

Staff also installed a perimeter surveillance camera at the entrance to Coyote Creek Pressure Control Structure to deter graffiti and vandalism that is on the rise in that location.

A special agent accompanied an unannounced Transportation Security Administration inspection of a chemical rail car delivery at one of Metropolitan’s water treatment plants. The inspection was successfully concluded without any findings.

Environmental, Health and Safety

Staff submitted comments and testified at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Hearing on December 16 to adopt a California Greenhouse Gas Emission Cap and Trade Program. The CARB acknowledged that CARB staff neglected to adequately address the water sector (specifically Metropolitan and the Department of Water Resources) in allocating free allowances. Free allowances have been allocated for the electric utilities and specific industry sectors to minimize the financial impacts in the first periods of the program. Metropolitan and CARB staff will work together to resolve these issues over the next six to eight months. Other gaps and issues associated with implementation of the program will also be addressed by CARB during this time. The CARB adopted the Cap and Trade program and amended the reporting regulations at the hearing.

Operations Support Services

In preparation for the January shutdown, staff completed manufacturing 35 pieces, each are 82-inch diameter pipe sections for the Box Springs Feeder repair of pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe.

For a February shutdown of the Allen McColloch Pipeline, staff is approximately 60 percent complete with the manufacturing of ten, 60- to 70-inch diameter pipe sections.

Staff is also completing various projects for the March 2011 Upper Feeder shutdown, including manufacturing of ―T‖ sections and thimbles for various service connections; fabrication of drop gates and guides for the Weymouth treatment plant effluent; and the rehabilitation of a 36-inch valve to replace the existing Monterey Valve to ensure the ability to isolate the Palos Verdes Feeder.



WATER QUALITY

Protect Source Water Quality

The East Branch of the State Water Project developed algae blooms that produced problematic o f t h e t a s t e ‑ a n d - o d o r c o m p o u n d s 2‑methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin. Because the taste-and-odor production ranged throughout a 100‑mile reach, a specific treatable location could not be identified. Recent changes in the weather, a shutdown of the East Branch and dilution within Silverwood Lake kept levels low enough to prevent consumer complaints.

Manage Water Treatment

The latest total dissolved solids results from November for Weymouth, Diemer, and Skinner water treatment plants are 529, 515, and 510 mg/L, respectively. The target blends at the Weymouth, Diemer, and Skinner treatment plants remain at 35 percent State Water Project.

Staff met with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to plan for process improvements at two lagoons which the Jensen water treatment plant leases for solids dewatering. The dewatering lagoons comprise an essential part of the solids handling capabilities at the Jensen plant, the second largest water treatment plant in the United States.

Future Regulations

Metropolitan maintained 100 percent compliance with federal and state primary drinking water standards. Staff continued to track regulatory development on perchlorate, chromium 6, and proposed revisions to the Total Coliform Rule.

The Environmental Working Group released a report on December 21 titled ―Chromium-6 in U.S. Tap Water.‖ Staff subsequently prepared a briefing for the member agencies that put into context the public health risks and uncertainties related to chromium 6.

Current Distribution & Storage

12/30/2010 Percent of

Storage (AF) Capacity

Lake Mathews 137,474 AF 76%

Lake Skinner 39,581 AF 90%

DVL 635,701 AF 78%

Lake Perris 68,325 AF 52%

Useful information:

AF = acre-foot, the volume of water to cover an acre of land, one-foot deep.

Approximately 326,000 gallons of water, serves annual needs of two typical California families.

TAF=thousand acre-feet


W A T E R S U P P L Y C O N D I T I O N S


Water Resource Development and Conservation Initiatives

WateReuse Legislative Planning—In December, Metropolitan hosted the WateReuse Association’s National Legislative Committee planning session. Representatives met to get a head start on 2011 legislative issues and organizational priorities. The Committee discussed the 112th Congress structure and legislative issues, including Title XVI and State Revolving Fund reauthorization, and formulated an approach to educate new congressional members on recycled water.

Long-Term Regional Conservation Plan

Long-Term Conservation Plan Workshop—Metropolitan held a workshop with member agencies to continue development of the Long-Term Conservation Plan. The members provided input on a five-year implementation plan and potential key actions for FY 2011/12.

W A T E R R E S O U R C E M A N A G E M E N T

WATER SUPPLY RELIABILITY

State Water Project

Review of Cost Allocation Procedures—Metropolitan provided comments to the Department of Water Resources’ draft on the ―Review of Cost Allocation Procedures of the State Water Project,‖ which was prepared by an independent expert procured by DWR. The review was requested by the legislature and is part of an ongoing evaluation of DWR’s requests for funding of project costs allocated to recreation. The final report is expected to be released early in 2011.

Energy Integrated Resources Plan—The DWR adopted an Energy Integrated Resources Plan that will guide DWR's energy acquisition planning for the State Water Project. DWR coordinated development of the Energy Plan with the SWP Energy Committee that is chaired by Metropolitan staff. The plan addresses: (1) Long-term energy procurements, (2) Greenhouse management strategies, and (3) Groundwork for further examination of short-term transactions under the new California transmission grid operating rules.

WATER SUPPLY

In-Basin Groundwater Storage

Groundwater Storage—Metropolitan is continuing to call storage from two programs. The Calleguas groundwater storage program is being called in order to exercise the wellfields. The Chino Basin groundwater storage program has been called to empty the storage account while agreement parties renegotiate the program terms.

Storage deliveries are continuing with other in-basin groundwater storage programs. As of December 1, 2010, nearly 16,000 AF have been stored this fiscal year in these programs.

Seawater Desalination

CalDesal—Staff participated in CalDesal’s meeting held to establish an organizational framework. Recruitment for the executive director position is underway.

Climate Change Impacts

As part of efforts to reflect climate change impacts in planning methods, Water Resource Management staff attended a workshop with the Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA), climate modeling experts and representatives from four of the nation’s ten Regional Integrated Science and Assessment (RISA) centers. The goal of the workshop was to scope pilot studies with selected WUCA agencies and their respective RISAs. The studies will examine the process of ―top-down‖ modeling and assessment of Global Circulation Model output through the water agency’s planning methods. WUCA will be producing a report on the modeling process once the studies are completed.


Near-Term Measures

Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District Wastewater Discharge Permit—On December 9, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) adopted a discharge permit renewal for the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (SRCSD) wastewater facility. The new permit requires the SRCSD to make substantial upgrades to

its wastewater treatment plant to comply with stringent permit limits by 2020, including upgrading the wastewater treatment plant to include treatment to substantially reduce ammonia and nitrate, and tertiary filtration to reduce pathogen risk. The permit also includes new requirements for studies and more comprehensive monitoring requirements.

B A Y - D E L T A I N I T I A T I V E S

BAY-DELTA SOLUTIONS

Long-Term Measures

In December, the state of California and the federal government released separate reports on the Bay Delta Conservation Plan draft. The California Natural Resources Agency’s report titled Highlights of the BDCP describes the background and status of the BDCP and outlines the major components of the state’s anticipated 2011 proposal for it completion. On December 15, six federal agencies jointly released the Interim Federal Action Plan Status Update for the California Bay-Delta: 2011 and Beyond. In describing the status of the Delta and the need for a solution, both the state and federal documents clearly identify new State Water Project/Central Valley Project Delta conveyance and operations as a fundamental element of a comprehensive fix. The federal document further articulates support for several other key Metropolitan positions, including improved water supplies, ability for water contractors to be permittees, and maximum regulatory assurances consistent with federal law. These documents illustrate a positive affirmation to the successful completion of the BDCP, and a commitment to the co-equal goals of improving water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration.

National Research Council—The National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Sustainable Water and Environmental Management in the California Bay-Delta held its third meeting on December 8-10, 2010. The panel has been reviewing the science upon which the Delta smelt and salmonid biological opinions were based. This meeting involved a subset of the full NRC committee and was focused upon the science behind the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Assistant General Manager Roger Patterson participated on one of the panels.

Emergency Preparedness

Delta Flood Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery Program—Hydrodynamic modeling studies are being prepared to evaluate emergency response scenarios based on established water quality targets for resuming water exports following a catastrophic levee failure in the Delta. Executive Briefings are being prepared for the California Department Water Resources and US Army Corps of Engineers, with a focus on an emergency freshwater pathway response to multi-island disasters, redundant emergency material stockpiles, and funding of pathway levee improvements to help mitigate levee slumping under seismic or flood-induced conditions.


H U M A N R E S O U R C E S

Total Compensation

Delivered Benefits Confirmation Statements based on recent open enrollment changes.

Finalized a new contract for a Service Awards program vendor. A new service awards recognition process will be implemented in 2011.

Talent Acquisition

Four new employees started at Metropolitan during December. There are 25 job openings in various stages of recruitment.

Workers’ Compensation / Medical

Conducted initial investigations on 18 injury incidents.

Submitted 11 new claims to Metropolitan’s workers’ compensation claim administrator.

Settlements were negotiated in 5 claims, finalized in 8 claim and 4 claim files were closed.

Conducted Medvans at Soto Street facility.

Arranged 25 medical evaluations (DMV medical surveillance, etc).

Addressed 3 accommodation issues.

Coordinated random drug/alcohol testing at 1 facility.

Learning and Development

Provided ongoing external coaching administration of 4 engagements with external coaches and supported internal coaching for 3 managers.

Participated in information sessions to introduce Training Coordinators to MyLearning, the PeopleSoft enterprise learning management system, and to define and explain new roles and procedures for full implementation and roll-out.

HUMAN RESOURCES EXCELLENCE

Risk Management

The Risk Management Unit completed a projected 44 incident reports communicating instances of Metropolitan property damage, liability, workplace injuries, regulatory visits and spills.

Risk Management completed a projected 33 risk assessments on contracts, including professional service agreements, construction contracts, entry permits, special events and film permits.

Employee Relations

Finalized the transfer of the EEO Complaint Investigation function under the Employee Relations Section. While EEO investigations will still be conducted independent of the Employee Relations function, this re‑organization will help expedite the investigation process through greater oversight. There will also be a greater emphasis placed on conducting investigations internally, as opposed to using external resources, which will also expedite the investigation process.

Employee Relations continued its integral role in support of ongoing contract negotiations. This will continue into 2011, as Metropolitan moves towards concluding the negotiations.

HR Information System

Partnered with IT to finish the technical implementation of the MyLearning system. Rollout and training of new system will begin in January 2011.

Completed the technical implementation of the MyJobs system. Rollout is scheduled to begin in January 2011.

HIGH PERFORMANCE WORKPLACE

Management Excellence

A 45-minute teleconference and webinar titled ―Helping Your New Manager Succeed‖ was coordinated for managers of new managers as part of management development.

Fifty participants attended two Leadership IQ webinar sessions at various facilities. The topics presented were ―Motivating your Manager Star Employees‖ and ―The Secrets of Exceptional Presentations.‖


F I N A N C E a s o f N O V E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 1 0

Excludes Bond Construction and Other Trust Funds Activity Excludes Bond Construction and Other Trust Funds Activity


Public Information Programs

Efforts and activities included:

Issued press releases regarding updated Bay-Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) reports from the state and federal governments and separate release about James Bowersox, representing the San Diego County Water Authority, sworn in as a new member of Metropolitan’s Board of Directors.

Arranged multiple interviews with General Manager Kightlinger and Assistant General Manager Patterson and reporter for the New York Times to discuss issues related to the Sacramento‑San Joaquin Delta, the Colorado River Basin, Imperial Irrigation District and the Salton Sea.

Arranged for Assistant General Manager/Chief Financial Officer Thomas to be interviewed by reporters from Bloomberg News Service and Reuters wire service for stories about Metropolitan’s December bond sale.

Set up interview with General Manager Kightlinger and reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News for a story about Southern California water supplies.

Arranged separate interviews with the General Manager and Metropolitan staff and reporter for Los Angeles Times for stories regarding Westlands Water District’s withdrawal from the BDCP process; the impact of updated BDCP reports from the state and federal governments; and latest ruling by federal judge in Fresno regarding changes to the biological opinion restricting water supplies in the Sacrament-San Joaquin Delta.

Worked with Chief Financial Officer Thomas to provide information to reporter from High County News about the financial impacts to Metropolitan of pumping restrictions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Coordinated interview with Assistant General Manager Patterson and reporter from the North County Times for a story about the National Academy of Sciences report updating water supply challenges detailed in the book ―Cadillac Desert.‖

Helped facilitate Public Records Act request from San Diego Union-Tribune reporter requesting information related to Metropolitan board and staff travel expenses and reimbursement.

Support Board with Communications and Working Relationships with Stakeholders

Support Board members’ communication and working relationships with elected officials, other government leaders, and business and community leaders.

On Monday, December 6, Metropolitan conducted briefings and inspection trips for representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Australian government. Peter Silva, Assistant Administrator for Water at EPA, initiated the request for these briefings and tours which included the City of San Diego’s North City Reclamation Facility, Municipal Water District of Orange County

and the Orange County Water District’s Groundwater Replenishment System and West Basin’s Ocean-Water Desalination Demonstration Facility, and the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility. The Water Authority, City of San Diego, MWDOC, Orange County Water District and West Basin board and staff participated with Metropolitan on conducting these briefings. Directors Steiner, Ackerman, Gray and Little participated along with the agency staff.

Staff prepared talking points for Director Kristine Murray for a water supply and transportation infrastructure update she provided to the Orange County Building Industry Association.

E x t e r n a l a f f a i r s

COMMUNICATIONS

Public Education / Advertising Conservation Efforts

Nearly 30,000 people visited www.bewaterwise.com in November.

Provided information about Metropolitan programs at an exhibit at the annual Colorado River Water Users Conference from December 15-17.


Policy and Legislative Strategies

State Legislation

On the first day of the 2011/12 legislative session, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and called a ―special session‖ of the Legislature to address the current budget deficit of $6.1 billion. When coupled with the Legislative Analyst’s projected $19.3 billion revenue gap for the remainder of the fiscal year, the state’s budget deficit climbs to $25.4 billion over the next 18 months, if no corrective action is taken.

On December 6, the Senate and Assembly convened to organize and take the oath of office, to elect caucus leaders and announce leadership teams and adopt house rules to govern operations for the new session.

Local Government

Staff provided a presentation to the Harbor Association of Industry & Commerce on California’s ongoing water crisis and efforts underway to secure improved water supply reliability through the Bay Delta Conservation Plan. Additionally, staff spoke on Metropolitan’s current Water Supply Allocation Plan and related conservation

E x t e r n a l a f f a i r s

LEGISLATIVE AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Community Outreach

Efforts and activities included:

Three California Friendly Landscape Training program classes were held for approximately 90 landscape architects and homeowners.

Staff conducted the first of two technical workshops at Metropolitan’s Headquarters for Solar Cup 2011. More than 200 students and teachers attended hands-on sessions on electrical, mechanical, teacher resources and Public Service Announcement program elements. Forty-two schools are currently participating in the 2011 Solar Cup. Twelve teams are ―rookie‖ or first-time participants.

Three Diamond Valley Lake field trips were conducted (grades four through six) for nearly 90 students from Hemet Unified School District and Perris School District. One in-class presentation was completed at Record Elementary with 22 fifth-grade students. Staff hosted seven field trips (for nearly 450 students) in collaboration with the Western Science Center outreach program.

Staff hosted the Water is Life Student Art Recognition event at Headquarters building. Over 100 student artists, family members, teachers and participating member and retail agencies attended.

Staff and the Community Partnering Program project partners have completed the interactive online Water for the City: Southern California’s Urban Water Cycle program and teacher guide. Partners are recruiting teachers for implementation of the program at area-wide middle schools.

Staff conducted a Diamond Valley Lake tour for the California Building Performance Contractors Association.

Coordinate / Communicate Day-to-Day Efforts

Staff participated in a meeting with Three Valleys Municipal Water District and its retail agencies to discuss potential outreach required for the March 2011 Weymouth Shutdown.

As part of the public outreach plan for the January 2011 Box Springs Feeder shutdown and repair project, staff coordinated and participated in a multiple site visit with Western Municipal Water District.

programs available to businesses and local government.

Federal Legislation

The General Manager participated in a panel discussion on the topic of federal and state Colorado River issues, address ing approx imate ly 800 participants at the Association of California Water Agencies Fall Conference in Indian Wells, California.

The General Manager and staff met with U.S. Department of Interior officials, along with counterpart managers of water agencies that deliver Colorado River water to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, while attending the annual meeting of the Colorado River Users Association in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Metropolitan staff, along with representatives from other southwestern public power interests, met with Minority and Majority Staff Counsel for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to request that H.R. 4349 (Napolitano), the Hoover Power Allocation Act of 2009, be enacted before the adjournment of the 111th Congress.


Property for Future Water Infrastructure and other Real Property Goals

A year-to-year license was granted to Rancho California Water District for access, operation, and maintenance of a Fixed Network Automated Meter Reading system. This system will be located on a portion of Metropolitan’s San Diego Pipeline. No. 4 right of way and will allow for wireless water meter readings.

An entry permit was issued to KB Homes Coastal, Inc. for access onto a portion of Metropolitan’s Casa Loma Canal right of way in the City of San Jacinto to clear the site of brush and weeds and to allow for rough grading in conjunction with the construction of a wall on KB’s adjacent property.

The County of Riverside was issued an entry permit to allow access for visual site inspections and environmental surveys in conjunction with a proposed road project near Murrieta Hot Springs Road in Murrieta. The non-invasive inspections will be conducted on portions of Metropolitan’s San Diego Pipeline Nos. 3, 4 and 5.

R e a l p r o p e r t y d e v e l o p m e n t a n d m a n a g e m e n t

REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Recreation Facilities Diamond Valley Lake

Approximately 68,000 anglers have visited Diamond Valley Lake, and 11,500 private boats have launched since the reopening of the boat ramp December 2009. Increased launch fees collected through October are estimated to be $72,000.

DVL Visitor Center

The street lighting on Searl Parkway was repaired, the machine rooms located on the roof of the DVL Visitor Center were cleaned, and four backflow devices were certified. As part of the preparation for renting the previous DVL Visitor Center located off Newport Road, the lighting was replaced. Routine maintenance at the Center continues to be performed on schedule.

Sustainability in all Aspects of Real Property

A meeting was held on December 15 with the successful respondent on RFP 944 for the development of solar farms on Metropolitan’s DVL north and west properties. An option agreement will be presented to the Real Property and Asset Management Committee on January 25, 2011.

Operate Headquarters Facility

Completed routine preventive maintenance of building systems and equipment, and installed three Variable Frequency Drives on the parking level exhaust fans. VFDs control the speed of large electric motors so they use less electricity and run more efficiently.


About Metropolitan

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that provides drinking water to nearly 19 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties.

Metropolitan's Mission is to provide its service area with adequate and reliable supplies of high-quality water to meet present and future needs in an environmentally and economically responsible way.

www.MWDH2O.com

www.BeWaterWise.com

General Manager: Jeffrey Kightlinger

Office of the GM No.: 213 217-6139

E-Mail: [email protected]

700 No. Alameda Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

General No.: 213 217-6000

B U S I N E S S O U T R E A C H

Support of Veteran Business Community

On December 8, staff participated in the Governor’s Small Business Advocate Advisory Group. Discussion centered on how to raise contracting participation levels of disabled veteran and small business enterprises.

Support of Member Agencies and Southern California Business Community

Staff member Wigs Mendoza was awarded the Advocate of the Year Award from the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County. This award is presented annually to recognize the significant and lasting contributions made by an individual, group or organization to the Orange County Business Community and to the Filipino American Business Community.

On December 1, Metropolitan welcomed representatives from the Shenzhen Municipal Government in China participating in ―Civic Business and Economic Development Modal Change and Regional Economic Cooperation.‖ Metropolitan was asked to participate in the program by the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development and the Rand Corporation. Employees fluent in Mandarin helped to provide an overview and representatives from Business Outreach and Engineering also provided information to the group.

Vendor Development, Training and Certification

Metropolitan exhibited and participated in workshops with the City of Riverside on ―How to Do Business with Government Agencies‖ and a panel discussion on Small Business Certification at the Inland Empire MBEC-CHARO ―Supplier Diversity Workshop and Networking Event.‖ More than 150 business owners and corporate sponsors attended the event.

Continued vendor development, education, training and support for the Southern California Business Community by participating in the following December 2010 Awards Programs, Conferences and Expos:

Southern California Small Business Development Centers

Asian Business Association Orange County

Filipino American Chamber of Commerce Orange County

Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation

Regional Hispanic Business Chamber

Latin Business Association

National Association of Women Business Owners Ventura County, Los Angeles, and Orange County

december 2010 - metropolitan water district of southern …edmsidm.mwdh2o.com/idmweb/cache/mwd...

Documents