Water Matters: Little Hoover Commission Findings, New SCWC Chief, BizFed Delta Trip

The Little Hoover Commission released its "report, Managing for Change: Modernizing California's Water Governance, this week, urging the governor and the Legislature to restructure the state's water administration to better coordinate key supply management and planning roles, and separate them from the operation of the State Water Project. The report was released the same week as the Southern California Water Committee named Richard Atwater as its new executive director.

Read the commission's Press Release, Executive Summary, or Full Report

In announcing its new executive director, the SCWC said Atwater's water leadership experience and expertise will help expand the organization's efforts to educate policymakers and the public on Southern California's water needs and outlook including developing the Bay Delta Conservation Plan for the ailing Delta and ensuring a more reliable water supply, expanding our local water resources, passing a statewide water bond in 2012.
 
Atwater has decades of water policy experience and was a member of the California Water Commission, the 2001 Drought Task Force, 2003 Water Recycling Task Force and the 2006 Desalination Task Force. Most recently, Mr. Atwater served for more than a decade as the General Manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
 
The SCWC's prior interim executive director, Ron Gastelum, a long-term board member and BizFed member, had donated his services to the SCWC for one year. Gastelum will continue to play an active role in the SCWC and statewide water policy. For more information on SCWC, please visit www.socalwater.org.
 
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is hosting a second educational and informational behind-the-scenes inspection trip for BizFed members of  the San Joaquin-Sacramento Bay Delta region and learn about this crucial hub for state water resources. The trip, Nov. 3-4, includes a stop in Sacramento the day after the General Election that will allow for an opportunity to hear a preliminary post-election recap by industry experts and their legislative staff. BizFed members will join leaders from San Diego and San Francisco on the trip. To hold a spot on the trip, RSVP by Oct. 1 to Jen Earle, jen.earle@bizfed.org or call 213.346.3282.