At the January meeting of the West Basin Municipal Water District Board of Directors, the board unanimously elected Division III Director and Vice President Desi Alvarez to represent West Basin on the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) Board of Directors beginning in February 2023.
“It is my honor to represent the interests of the West Basin service area on the board of Metropolitan, the largest supplier of treated water in the United States,” said Alvarez. “I intend to carry on the West Basin tradition of working collaboratively with fellow Metropolitan board members to ensure water reliability for the service area and region through balanced and affordable supply diversification.”
Alvarez was elected to the West Basin board in 2020 and has over 30 years of water management experience in both the public and private sectors. He represents West Basin Division III cities of Hermosa Beach, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, a portion of Torrance and West Carson. Alvarez succeeds Director Harold C. Williams, MSCE, P.E., who stepped down from his Metropolitan board role this month after four years of service. Williams served as a member of the Engineering and Operations Committee, and the Organization, Personnel and Technology Committee.
“It has been a pleasure to serve on the Metropolitan board since 2018,” said Williams. “I have full confidence that Director Alvarez will continue to progress the West Basin mission forward as he steps into this role.”
Alvarez joins fellow Director Gloria D. Gray in representing West Basin on the 38-member Metropolitan board. As a Metropolitan board member, Alvarez is responsible for establishing and administering Metropolitan’s policies, upholding the articles in the Metropolitan Act and participating in one or more of the agency’s standing committees.
“Our board thanks Director Williams for his service on behalf of West Basin and we are grateful to Director Alvarez for his willingness to serve as one of our two representatives to the Metropolitan board,” said West Basin Board President Scott Houston. “With critical decisions looming that impact the water supplies for all Southern Californians, strong representation from West Basin is vital to ensure our agency’s communities are heard and that West Basin’s interests are included in the regional decision-making process.”
For more information about the Metropolitan Board, visit: https://www.mwdh2o.com/board-of-directors/.