Moderator:
Kathleen Brown, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Panel:
Michael George, Delta Watermaster
Jeff Kightlinger, General Manager, Metropolitan Water District
Adel Hagekhalil, Assistant Director, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Mark Gold, Associate Vice Chancellor for Environment and Sustainability, UCLA
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta serves as a vital hub in California’s water system, with much of Southern California and Central Valley agriculture heavily dependent upon it for exported water, Delta residents and farmers relying on it, and fish and wildlife lifecycles dependent upon it. But with so many competitors for a supply that is increasingly limited—as Southern California’s population increases and climate change diminishes normal levels of replenishment—state and local bodies are reconsidering traditional sources of supply. How will authorities at the local, regional, and state levels need to adapt in order to continue providing residents with water? What efforts toward conservation and efficiency are underway to address this? What role will local uses play?