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General Manager Adel Hagekhalil: Planning the Future of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California water supply, reuse, conservation, storm water management, and wastewater facilities planning. In 2018, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti asked me to lead the city’s Bureau of Streets Services, where I worked toward the goal of reforming the department and boosting morale, but most importantly, integrating a multibenefit climate adaptation program that provides solutions to enhance the quality of life for local communities. I love my career. I tell people I’m an engineer, but I’m also a people person, and I think good communication is important. I’m all about collaboration. All my life, I have worked really hard to integrate innovation into what we do, to build consensus, and to enhance stakeholder engagement. I am committed to providing excellent service to our member agencies and everyone in our service area. I’m proud to be able to share my skills and my knowledge with the industry at this crucial time and to move us forward to address the next 100 years of Metropolitan’s future. Diamond Valley Lake, located near Hemet in southwestern Riverside County.
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del Hagekhalil is the new general manager and CEO of the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the regional wholesaler that delivers water to 26 public member agencies serving 19 million people in 6 Southland counties. The leadership of an agency as large and significant as Metropolitan brings many challenges as well as opportunities to improve the quality of life of millions. In this interview, Mr. Hagekhalil tells us about Metropolitan’s efforts to ensure water reliability, integrated water management, and affordability for its 5,200 square-mile service area. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
6 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER | November/December 2021
Adel Hagekhalil: Metropolitan was formed in 1928 as a collaborative of cities with a purpose to bring people and agencies together to bring water to Southern California—originally by building the vast infrastructure that is the 242‑mile Colorado River Aqueduct. In the 1950s, recognizing the need for additional supplies to meet growing postwar demands, Metropolitan signed on to contract for water from Northern California via the State Water Project (SWP). Over the years, our agency has grown and adapted to become the region’s water planner, ensuring a reliable water supply through conservation and local resource programs and continuing to invest in our imported water systems. Today, we serve 26 member agencies, which in turn deliver water to 19 million residents in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura Counties. I am really proud to work at an organization that has helped make the region the thriving place it is today. We continue to pursue that mission for the communities we serve. We have employees working in facilities spanning our 5,200-square-mile Southern California service area, all the way to Lake Havasu on the Arizona-California border. Our system includes 5 water treatment plants, 830 miles of pipelines, and about 400 service connections with our member agencies. We have a great team of municipalwaterleader.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF METROPOLITAN.
Adel Hagekhalil: I have a passion for water and over 32 years of diverse experience in the industry, working on initiatives that include integrated water planning. I also have worked for many years to elevate water awareness and have led many programs on green infrastructure, One Water initiatives, and storm water programs across our region and at the state and national levels. I spent 10 years as the assistant general manager of Los Angeles’s Bureau of Sanitation, where I led the city’s wastewater collection system, storm water and watershed protection program, advance planning, and facilities. I also helped develop the city’s 2040 One Water L.A. plan, a regional watershed approach to integrating
Municipal Water Leader: Would you tell us about Metropolitan’s history and describe its mission and service area?
