LETTER FROM THE BOARD OFFICERS & GENERAL MANAGER

Letter from the Board Officers and General Manager

Fiscal Year 2020 will go down as one for the ages. The emergence of a pandemic and the vengeance of the ensuing recession shaped our lives and our agency in profound ways. Through all the setbacks and challenges, we maintained our mission mindset by enhancing collaboration with our 24 member agencies and expanding our leadership in new ways.

The most obvious change was the transition to remote work for virtually all of our office staff and the adoption of technologies to make it happen. Through an extraordinary effort by our information services team, not only did staff manage to execute core business functions but we kept delivering high-quality water to sustain our region – the foundation of our economic recovery.

At the same time, we enhanced our outreach and education efforts to assure the public that COVID-19 would not threaten our water supplies, an effort that also started a conversation with Hispanic residents to increase trust in water quality and safety. The tagline of our campaign – We’re Here For You – was never more true than it was during the early months of uncertainty over the pandemic.

Outside of the upheaval caused by COVID-19, the Water Authority had a remarkable run during Fiscal Year 2020, which started with hosting the Newsom administration’s top environment and natural resources officials for a tour of our resilient water supply portfolio. Our efforts were hailed as a “model for California”.

The year also included the hiring of Sandra L. Kerl as the permanent general manager of the Water Authority, ushering in a new era for the agency. And we took significant steps to conclude the rate case litigation with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, including the dismissal of certain elements of our lawsuits following significant movement by MWD’s Board to approve $350 million in grant funds for local water projects.

At every turn, we kept our member agencies and the region’s water ratepayers at the forefront. The Board took several strategic steps to limit rate increases despite significant upward pressure, and we approved the creation of a new, permanent program to benefit our region’s farmers.

On the ground, our work crews never missed a beat despite the uncertainty of the coronavirus. Emergency repairs were completed on the Second Aqueduct in North County, construction began on a new flow regulatory structure in Mission Trails Regional Park and our staff pulled off impressive repairs on Pipeline 5 and the Lake Hodges Pumped Storage Facility.

In short, Fiscal Year 2020 stretched us in new ways – but we embraced it as an era of opportunity, rising to the challenge through innovation and resilience.