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Pandemic Response at the Nation’s Largest Water Wholesaler planning, finance, and operations. In 2010, when I was the assistant manager of water system operations, I left to become the general manager of one of our member agencies. After serving in that role for 7 years, I returned 2 years ago to be Metropolitan’s chief administrative officer and one of its assistant general managers. I cover information technology (IT), human resources, environmental planning, real property, security, and board administration, so some of the COVID‑19 responses are falling pretty squarely into my wheelhouse. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about the size and scale of your operations.
A Metropolitan engineer inspects the cement mortar lining of the bell and spigot joints in the second lower feeder.
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has been doing to keep its employees and customers safe while continuing operations during this crisis. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Shane Chapman: I’ve been in the water sector for 28 years. I started at Metropolitan in 1991 and worked there for 20 years in various departments, including water resources management and
22 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | JUNE 2020 COVID-19 SPECIAL ISSUE
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF METROPOLITAN.
he Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a regional wholesaler that provides water for 26 member public agencies serving 19 million people in six counties across Southern California. Like other water utilities around the United States, Metropolitan has had to find new ways to continue its operations during the COVID‑19 pandemic. In this interview, Shane Chapman, an assistant general manager and the chief administrative officer of Metropolitan, speaks with Municipal Water Leader about what the agency
Shane Chapman: Metropolitan is a special district created by the state legislature. Its primary function is to import water from Northern California and the Colorado River, and it imports a little over half the water used in Southern California, which is home to 19 million people and a $1.6 trillion economy. We have five treatment plants, three of which are among the largest in the United States. We also support sustainability with recycled water, water conservation, and storm water capture. Since the mid-1990s, Metropolitan has moved pretty aggressively into water resources management and supporting its member agencies in their efforts to develop local supplies. That’s a big part of our business now. Metropolitan has roughly 1,900 employees and a $1.6 billion annual budget that includes our capital improvements program, which runs about $300 million a year. As with many water agencies these days, most of Metropolitan’s capital program is focused on refurbishing and rebuilding old infrastructure.
