Water Policy Panel

Panel: Water Policy

Download PDF of Water Policy Panel here.

Date/Time: Tuesday 08:50-09:40 AM

Moderator: Gora Datta, CAL2CAL Corporation

Panelists:
Diane Gatza, P.E, Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Russ Lefevre, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) Board of Directors

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California and Water Independence Now(WIN) Program

Diane Gatza, P.E, Water Replenishment District (WRD) of Southern California

The WRD’s efforts to become 100% independent of imported water to provide a sustainable groundwater basin for pumper agencies.

Panelist Bio:

Diane Gatza is a licensed P.E. and Water Resources Planning Engineer with the Water Replenishment District of Southern California(WRD). Diane manages several programs at WRD including the Regional Brackish Water Reclamation Program cleaning up a 600,000 AF salty groundwater plume and a managing a first of its kind joint partnership between WRD and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power aiming to reclaim over 200 million gallons a day of treated waste water for groundwater basin replenishment. Diane has lead large scale planning and high profile programs in addition to the current programs she is managing. She received her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from California State Polytechnic University-Pomona.

Sustainable Water Systems in California

Russ Lefevre, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) Board of Directors

California is a state with unique water issues:

Most of the water is in the north. Most of the population is in the south. To provide water to all, significant infrastructure is required. The most recent project to move the water is the California WaterFix. This would construct 2 tunnels, 40 feet in diameter for 30 miles under the Sacramento Delta leading to pumps to send the water south. Expected results and issues will be discussed.
A second problem is that California has suffered significant droughts in the past decades. One part of the solution is the use of recycled water. The state has several recycled water plants that can alleviate much of the effects of drought. Several new plants to be described will result in significant new potable and nonpotable water.
A third problem is that major over pumping of ground water near the ocean has resulted in aquifer levels below the ocean water level leading to many aquifers being contaminated by salt. The use of brackish water desalters to address this problem will be addressed.

Panelist Bio:

Russ Lefevre is a Fellow of the IEEE and AAAS. He has a BS and MS in Physics from the University of North Dakota and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Santa Barbara. He was President of IEEE-USA in 2008 and President of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society in 2001. He has an appointment as an Adjunct Professor of Physics at the University of North Dakota. He is presently a Director on the Board of the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California representing the city of Torrance. The MWD is the country’s largest public water agency serving water to 19 million people in six counties in southern California.