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ADEQUATE WATER for a
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Schedule of ACTIVITIES
8:20 A.M. WELCOME
Supervisor Dawn Rowe, 3rd District - Chairman of the Board, San Bernardino County
8:30 A.M. CYBER SECURITY FOR UTILITIES
Critical infrastructure is quickly becoming a favorite target for cybersecurity threats. According to the EPA, less than 25 percent of water and wastewater operators surveyed perform annual cybersecurity risk assessments. Our expert panel will share the threats systems face and what can be done about it.
General Francis X. Taylor - President, Cambridge Global Advisors
Hasfeh Lak - Chief of International Ops, Cambridge Global Advisors
Harri Hursti - Senior Advisor, Cambridge Global Advisors
Moderator: Robert Starr - Director Strategic Technologies, The Toro Company
9:00 A.M. STATUS OF IMPORTED WATER
A majority of Southern Californians receive imported water from one source or another. Where do these projects stand and what is being done to improve supply reliability?
Susan Kennedy - Executive Chair, Board of Directors for Cadiz, Inc.
Willliam Hasencamp - Manager of Colorado River Resources, Metropolitan Water District
JP Robinette, P.E.- Director Engineering and Construction, Sites Project Authority
Tom Gibson - Lead Deputy Director for State Water Project, Department of Water Resources
Moderator: Charles Wilson- Executive Director, Southern California Water Coalition
9:55 A.M. INVESTING IN OUR WATER FUTURE
For the water/wastewater sector, there is little dispute regarding the need for investment. Much of the state’s infrastructure is either nearing the end of its useful life or needs an upgrade to meet demand. This panel tackles the challenges, opportunities, and gaps in financing for infrastructure.
Lance Eckhart - General Manager, San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency
Robert Grantham - General Manager, Santa Margarita Water District
Dr. Oliver Browne - California Regional Director, WestWater Research
Carolyn Schaffer - Sustainability and Resilience Section Manager, Metropolitan Water District
Moderator: Dr. Mark Grey - Director of Environmental Affairs, Building Industry Association of Southern California
10:45 A.M. BREAK
11:00 A.M. LOCAL SUPPLY RELIABILITY IN THE UPPER SANTA ANA WATERSHED
The challenges and different approaches for securing reliability.
Craig Miller - General Manager, Western Municipal Water District
Greg Woodside - Chief of Planning & Watershed Resilience, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District
Joe Mouawad - General Manager, Eastern Municipal Water District
Shivaji Deshmukh - General Manager, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
Moderator: Jeff Mosher - General Manager, Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
12:30 P.M. KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Secretary Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency 1:00 P.M. CLOSING REMARKS
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SpeakerBIOGRAPHIES
DR. OLIVER BROWNEWESTWATER RESEARCH
Dr. Oliver R. Browne is the California Regional Director at WestWater Research, a leading economic consulting firm specializing in market research and advisory services for water rights and water resource development. Dr. Browne advises a diverse range of clients, including private businesses, utilities, municipalities, State and Federal agencies, and legal counsel involved in litigation on water resource economics. Among other reports, he recently co-authored an economic analysis of the Delta Conveyance Project for the California Department of Water Resources.
Before joining WestWater Research, Dr. Browne held senior consultant roles at several full-service consulting firms, where he specialized in water resources and energy economics, natural resource damages and antitrust. In addition to over a decade of consulting experience, Dr. Browne has taught courses in water resource economics and computational economics as a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Chicago. Dr. Browne has published academic papers in prestigious journals, including The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Energy Economics, and Energy Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago and undergraduate degrees in engineering science and economics, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
WADE CROWFOOTCALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY
Wade Crowfoot serves as California’s Natural Resources Secretary, leading efforts to conserve California’s environment and natural resources. He has served as Secretary since 2019 and advises Governor Newsom as a member of his cabinet.
Secretary Crowfoot oversees an agency of over 25,000 employees spread across 26 departments, commissions, and conservancies. His agency is charged with stewarding California’s forests and natural lands, rivers and water supplies, and coast and ocean. It also protects natural places, wildlife and biodiversity, and helps oversee the state’s world-leading clean energy transition.
Secretary Crowfoot is leading efforts to achieve Governor Newsom’s ambitious environmental vision, including a commitment to conserve 30 percent of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030. He oversees billions of dollars of public investment to protect people and natural places from climate change impacts, and has led efforts to navigate California’s record-breaking droughts, floods, and wildfires.
Secretary Crowfoot has also initiated a new era of partnerships with California Native American Tribes and is shifting how the agency operates to better support all California residents and communities.
Secretary Crowfoot has been on the frontlines of environmental leadership throughout his career. He served in Governor Jerry Brown’s Administration as deputy cabinet secretary and senior advisor to the Governor, driving climate action. He led the non-profit Water Foundation to build water resilience across the
American West. He spearheaded efforts to establish and defend California’s landmark climate change policies as West Coast regional director for the Environmental Defense Fund. As an environmental advisor to then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, he helped establish many first-in-the-nation urban environmental policies. Secretary Crowfoot received a bachelor’s degree from the University of WisconsinMadison and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.
SHIVAJI DESHMUKH
–INLAND EMPIRE UTILITIES AGENCY
Shivaji Deshmukh is a licensed engineer who serves as the General Manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) with over 20 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry. IEUA serves approximately 935,000 people in western San Bernardino County. Before IEUA, Mr. Deshmukh served as the Assistant General Manager at the West Basin Municipal Water District for 9 years. Prior to that, he served Orange County Water District, focused on the implementation, design, and construction of the Groundwater Replenishment System, a 130 million gallon per day potable reuse project.
LANCE ECKART - SAN GORGONIO PASS WATER AGENCY
Lance Eckhart is the General Manager for the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency.
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Mr. Eckhart has worked in the public and private sectors during his 25 years of experience in Water Resources management. Prior to his employment at SGPWA, he worked at the Mojave Water Agency (State Water Contractor) as the Director of Basin Management and Resource Planning. Before public service, Mr. Eckhart worked as a consultant for various environmental firms around Southern California.
Areas of expertise consist leading regional scientific studies, groundwater basin characterization and management, SGMA and groundwater adjudication implementation, resource policy, Urban Water Management Plans, salt and nutrient management, groundwater recharge/imports, water banking, Integrated Regional Water Management Planning, disadvantaged community involvement, state and federal grant programs, groundwater legislation and the State Water Contract.
THOMAS GIBSON –DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
Thomas Gibson was appointed Lead Deputy Director in March 2024. Prior to that appointment, he served as DWR General Counsel, having been appointed to that position in June 2021.
Thomas was previously Undersecretary, Deputy Secretary and Special Counsel for Water, and General Counsel for the California Natural Resources Agency from 2014-2020 as well as General Counsel for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife from 20092014.
Prior to joining the State, he was a Partner at the law firm of Best, Best & Krieger LLP and an Associate at the law firms of Hyman, Phelps & McNamara P.C. and
Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard.
ROBERT GRANTHAM – SANTA MARGARITA WATER DISTRICT
Robert Grantham is the General Manager of the Santa Margarita Water District. Mr. Grantham joined SMWD in June 2024, having previously served as the General Manager for the Rancho California Water District in Riverside County. He also worked in private consulting for nearly 20 years. Mr. Grantham was a Vice President and business group lead of a national business engineering firm, having worked with 250 water and wastewater agencies through the United States.
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MARK GREY
–BUILDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Mark Grey is the Director of Environmental Affairs for the Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIA/SC) and the Principal Technical Director for the Construction Industry Coalition on Water Quality (CICWQ).
In these roles, Dr. Grey directs education, research and advocacy programs on behalf of the building industry in California, primarily focusing on water quality and water supply reliability issues.
Dr. Grey has worked in the fields of water and air quality research and regulatory affairs for the past 30 years in the Pacific Northwest and California. Before joining BIA/SC and directing CICWQ, Dr. Grey operated his own consulting practice and
was the Director of Technical Services for Synagro Technologies, Inc., the nation’s largest organic waste recycler.
WILLIAM HASENCAMP–METROPOLITAN WATER
DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Bill Hasencamp is the Manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, where he develops and manages water supply programs to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River supplies. He has been with Metropolitan for 22 years, negotiating transfer agreements with irrigations districts, exchange agreements, and funding new water supply projects to augment Metropolitan’s Colorado River Supplies. Bill is one of California’s representatives to the Colorado River Salinity Control Forum.
HARRI HURSTI –CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL ADVISORS
Harri Hursti is the CoFounder of Nordic Innovation Labs, which offers a platform for world class experts to solve impossible problems around security and complex mission-critical systems designs. Hursti is also the former Chairman of the Board & Co-Founder of ROMmon, where he supervised the development of the world’s smallest 2 gigabit traffic analysis product that was later acquired by F-Secure Corporation. Hursti is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on the topic of cyber security and
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electronic voting security, having served in all aspects of the industry sector. As a consultant, Hursti has conducted and co-authored many studies, both academic and commercial, on various election systems’ data security and vulnerability. These studies have come at the request of officials, legislators and policy makers in 5 countries; including the U.S. government, at both the state and federal level.
Hursti is famously known for his successful attempt to demonstrate how the Diebold Election Systems’ voting machines could be hacked, ultimately altering final voting results. Mr. Hursti was hired by the nonprofit elections watchdog group Black Box Voting, where he performed two voting machine hacking tests, which became widely known as the Hursti Hacks. In the area of critical infrastructure, Mr. Hursti most recently completed an assignment organized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in February 2014, where he assumed the role of COO of an imaginary $53B critical infrastructure company in a cybersecurity attack simulation. For his research and work on data security and data privacy Mr. Hursti received the EFFI Winston Smith Award in 2008 and the EFF Pioneer Award in 2009.
SUSAN KENNEDY – CADIZ
Ms. Kennedy has led a distinguished career as a policymaker and entrepreneur, a top advisor to two California Governors, former Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission, and founder and chief executive of a distributed energy company. Ms.
Kennedy joined the Board of Directors of Cadiz, Inc. in March 2021 and currently serves as Executive Chair of the water solutions company, which is headquartered in LA and has infrastructure assets in San Bernardino, LA and Kern County.
Prior to entering the private sector, Ms. Kennedy served for two decades at the highest levels of California government, including chief of staff to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and cabinet secretary to Governor Gray Davis. From 2003 to 2006, Ms. Kennedy served as Commissioner of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which regulates the state’s investor-owned utilities. In this role, she oversaw the CPUC’s efforts to ensure water utilities deliver clean, safe, and reliable water to their customers at reasonable rates.
In her leadership role for two California Governors, Ms. Kennedy was responsible for negotiating some of the largest agreements among agricultural interests, environmentalists, rural and urban water users for multi-billion-dollar investments in water supply, storage and conveyance facilities, as well as conservation and environmental restoration projects including the $8 billion,10-year restoration of the San Francisco Bay Delta ecosystem and the early plans to restore the Salton Sea.
HAFSAH LAK –
CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL ADVISORS
Hafsah Lak is Chief of Global Operations at Cambridge Global Advisors and has over a decade’s worth of experience implementing international development projects, including with USAID, U.S. State Department, and the United Nations. At CGA, Lak leads the company’s international cyber programs, including cyber strategy, training and workforce development efforts, having
directed CGA’s ongoing and past engagements in Latin America, Caribbean, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Region.
She most recently led the organization’s cyber capacity building program in the ASEAN region, as well as the firm’s efforts to develop an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) for humanitarian organizations working in vulnerable contexts. Prior to joining CGA, Lak worked at the office of United States’ Senator Richard J. Durbin, Hudson’s Institute’s Center for South and Central Asia, and the University of Chicago’s Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflict. Previously, Lak has also worked on multiple political and advocacy campaigns in the U.S., as well as internationally, for candidates and nonprofit organizations. Lak holds a Master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago.
CRAIG MILLER –WESTERN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
General Manager of the 527-square mile Western Municipal Water District, Craig Miller is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of the District, including oversight of Finance, Operations, Engineering, Communications, Customer Experience, Human Resources, Information Services and Water Resources. Craig joined the District in 2014.
Craig has more than 30 years of engineering and leadership experience, is a registered civil engineer in the state of California, holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State University, Long Beach. Craig’s work experience includes 20 years at the Orange County Water District and private consulting, specializing in water resource
new recycled water facility Sustainable. Clean Energy.
(SNRC)
eastvalley.org/snrc
development, water rights, groundwater management, water and sewer system operations and capital project development.
Craig is a Board member and the Secretary of the California Municipal Utilities Association, a Board member of the Urban Water Institute, and a member of the Association of California Water Agencies Groundwater Committee.
JEFF MOSHER – SANTA ANA WATERSHED PROJECT AUTHORITY
Jeff Mosher is the General Manager of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), a five-member Joint Powers Authority. In this role, he oversees the Inland Empire Brine Line, a regional collection system that offers a cost-effective solution for managing salinity by disposing of concentrate and highly saline wastewater for water agencies and businesses. He also manages SAWPA’s efforts to develop regional plans, programs, and projects that safeguard and enhance the water resources of the Santa Ana River Watershed.Switzer Foundation.
JOE MOUAWAD –
EASTERN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Joe Mouawad, who has approximately three decades of experience in the water industry, was selected as Eastern Municipal Water District’s General Manager in April 2021.
Mouawad began his career at EMWD in August 2006 as the Director of Engineering. He was promoted to Senior Director of Engineering in 2014, and to Assistant General Manager of Planning, Engineering and Construction in December 2016.
EMWD’s General Manager is responsible for overseeing daily operations of the organization, which employs more than 600 people and is responsible for providing high quality and reliable water, wastewater and recycled water service to nearly 1 million people in a 555-square mile
service area in western Riverside County.
As Assistant General Manager, Mouawad oversaw seven different departments at EMWD, including Engineering, Development Services, Environmental and Regulatory Compliance, Conservation, Water Resources and Facilities Planning, Engineering Services, and Field Engineering.
Mouawad has first-hand experience managing EMWD’s $100 million annual Capital Improvement Program, including the significant expansion of its groundwater desalination program, its Perris North Groundwater Program, the growth of its recycled water program, and its Purified Water Replenishment program.
Mouawad has actively worked with a wide variety of EMWD stakeholders and has helped EMWD secure hundreds of millions in grants and low interest loans through its partnerships with state and federal funding agencies.
Prior to his tenure at EMWD, Mouawad worked at Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and in the private sector.
JP ROBINETTE –EASTERN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
JP has over 15 years of experience as an engineer, project manager, and leader in various industries. He is currently the Engineering and Construction Manager for the Sites Project Authority. In this role, he has oversight of all engineering, construction, and finance matters for the proposed $4B off-stream reservoir project. During his time with the Sites Project Authority, JP has led the development of the Authority’s contracting and delivery strategy and is responsible for helping to secure the project funding, which includes a recent invitation and application for a $2.2B WIFIA loan.
In 2022, JP founded Robinette Consulting with a focus on helping agencies work together to deliver generational water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
Francis X. Taylor is the former Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In that role, he provided the Secretary, DHS senior leadership, the DHS components, and state, local, tribal and private sector partners with the homeland security intelligence and information they need to keep the country safe and secure. I&A is a member of, and the Department’s liaison to, the National Intelligence Community. Prior to his assignment at DHS I&A, Mr. Taylor was Vice President and Chief Security Officer for the General Electric Company in Fairfield, Conn. At GE, he was responsible for managing the security operations and crisis management processes designed to ensure the security of GE employees and operations globally. Before GE, Mr. Taylor had a distinguished 35year career in government service, where he held several senior positions managing investigations, security and counterterrorism issues. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador. He was responsible for the global security of all U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities.
During his 31 years of military service, Ambassador Taylor served with distinction in numerous command and staff positions, rising to the rank of Brigadier General in September 1996. In his final active duty assignment, Brigadier General Taylor was the Commander, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and was responsible for providing Air Force leaders with comprehensive criminal, fraud, counterintelligence and security investigation and operations to protect global Air Force operations. Mr. Taylor has received numerous awards and decorations, including the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the U.S. Department of State Honor Award.
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CHARLES WILSON –SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WATER COALITION
Charles Wilson serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Southern California Water Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public education partnership between cities, counties, business, industry, agriculture, and water agencies dedicated to securing reliable, affordable, quality water for Southern California.
Wilson has been a leading public affairs professional in Southern California for more than 30 years and is a recognized leader in the industry. Wilson spent 26 years in the electric utility industry with Southern California Edison where he led the development and implementation of third-party strategic planning and communication efforts and aligned company interests with local, state and federal government officials and agencies.
Wilson also serves as principal owner of PC
Consulting Services Inc. A consulting firm dedicated to providing strategic counsel, public affairs, government relations and communications to public agencies, private sector business clients and nonprofits.
Prior to joining Edison, Wilson served as director of community and media affairs for State and U.S. Senator John Seymour. He has also worked in sports radio and television with ABC, ESPN, and the Netherlands Broadcast Company.
A frequent lecturer and university level instructor, Wilson was invited to provide advanced political campaign and communications seminars to train candidates and political parties in Novosibirsk, Russia. Wilson has also hosted and produced “Orange County Outlook,” a locally produced television show highlighting current events, political debate, and economic development activities in Orange County. Wilson currently serves as host to “What Matters Water TV and Podcast”, a regional production focused on the issues and leaders engaged in California water resilience.
GREG WOODSIDE – SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY
MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT
Greg Woodside is the Chief of Planning & Watershed Resilience for San Bernardino Valley. He is a Professional Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist in the State of California with a Masters Degree in Hydrology from New Mexico Tech and a bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the California State University Fullerton.
Greg manages San Bernardino Valley’s efforts on Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at Seven Oaks Dam, salt and nutrient management, and evaluation of impacts of emerging constituents in water quality. He also works on collaborative teams for the San Bernardino Basin Optimization Study, the development of the District’s Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, and the development of an adaptive management plan for groundwater recharge.
San Bernardino Valley is a regional wholesale water agency leading integrated water supply management and holistic watershed protection in the San Bernardino Valley region.
15 RETAIL WATER AGENCIES
353 SQUARE MILE SERVICE AREA
SERVING A POPULATION OF
714,000
12” TO 78” DIAMETER PIPELINES SPANNING
42 miles
San Bernardino Valley is responsible for securing reliable water supply for the region through delivery of imported water, stormwater capture, groundwater replenishment, recycled water, and other innovative solutions.
AS ONE OF THE LEADERS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, THE CITY OF ONTARIO CONTINUES TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO
