The Municipal Water District of Orange County’s (MWDOC) Water Policy Forum & Dinners feature high-profile speakers who are at the forefront of current public policy debate and discussion. Water industry experts, political and regulatory officials and other notable figures are asked to present on key water issues and initiatives.
Registration is now open for the upcoming MWDOC Water Policy Forum & Dinner, scheduled for Wednesday, January 31, 2024. The evening will showcase the insights, perspectives, strategies, and visions of several new water general managers from Southern California.
Join us at the Westin, South Coast Plaza, to kick off 2024 by networking with industry colleagues and hearing from new regional water leaders as they take the reins of their respective agencies.
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, MWDOC held a Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring keynote speaker Ed Ring, contributing editor, senior fellow, co-founder, and first President of the California Policy Center.
Honoring a Legacy
You are invited to attend a very special Water Policy Forum & Dinner on Thursday, February 9, 2023, to honor the legacy of MWDOC’s beloved general manager, Rob Hunter. Adán Ortega, newly elected chair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will lead a panel of Southern California water industry leaders in a discussion about water policy and supply issues that inspired and challenged Rob’s work as MWDOC’s General Manager for nearly a decade.
Please join us on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., for a special MWDOC Water Policy Forum & Dinner as we welcome keynote speaker E. Joaquin Esquivel, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board. From investments in clean drinking water to improving water system administration in the state, Chair Esquivel will share his perspective on the critical importance of local management of watersheds to ensure all Californians have access to clean, safe, affordable drinking water.
Please join us on Thursday, September 30, 2021, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for a very special MWDOC Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s (Metropolitan) new General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, Adel Hagekhalil. Will Metropolitan continue investing in imported water or pivot to water reuse and invest in the infrastructure needed to support it? And what role will water providers across the Southland play in support of Metropolitan’s new direction? Mr. Hagekhalil will speak about what he has planned for the nation’s largest wholesale water agency as he takes the reins as the new General Manager.
On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, MWDOC held a Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring keynote speaker Jeffrey Kightlinger, Former General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan). Nearly two hundred elected officials, business leaders, and water industry professionals from across Southern California gathered to celebrate Kightlinger’s retirement from Metropolitan after 15 years of service. Kightlinger reflected on his career including the successes and difficult decisions faced during his tenure running the nation’s largest wholesale water agency. The celebration concluded with thoughtful video tributes from well-respected peers thanking him for his dedicated service to the water industry.
On Wednesday, February 24, MWDOC hosted a Virtual Water Policy Forum featuring keynote panelists Susan Tatayon, Chair of the Delta Stewardship Council, and Nancy Vogel, Director, Governor’s Water Portfolio Program. We examined the Governor’s plan for long-term water resilience and discussed how it aims to achieve the state’s coequal goals of sustainable water supplies and environmental harmony.
On Wednesday, September 23, 2020, MWDOC hosted a Virtual Water Policy Forum featuring keynote speaker Michael George, Delta Watermaster, State Water Resources Control Board. Mr. George reflected on past developments with Delta Conveyance and discussed future projects that will enhance Southern California’s water supplies and reliability.
On Wednesday, February 12, MWDOC held a Water Policy Forum & Dinner in Costa Mesa featuring keynote speaker Jeffrey Kightlinger, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. After a transformative year for California Water, hundreds of water industry professionals gathered to hear Mr. Kightlinger’s discussion about the future of Delta Conveyance and other projects that will enhance Southern California’s water supplies and reliability.
On Thursday, September 5, 2019 MWDOC held the second Water Policy Forum & Dinner of our Speaker Series. Our speaker, William Bourdeau, Executive Vice President at Harris Farms Inc., Chairman of the Board of the California Water Alliance, and Board Director at Westlands Water District, discussed water supply uncertainty as both water user and water supplier.
On Thursday, February 21, 2019 MWDOC held the first Water Policy Forum & Dinner of our 2019 Speaker Series. We began in the North, with renowned Delta expert, Curt Schmutte and Kathy Cole, the longtime State Legislative Representative, for Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Cole and Schmutte discussed the instability of the Delta and what’s at risk if investments are not made.
On October 11, 2018 MWDOC welcomed Gloria D. Gray, newly elected Chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors. Attendees heard firsthand what she hopes to accomplish as she takes the Chairwoman’s seat at the largest urban water supplier in the nation. As the imported water purveyor for a trillion-dollar Southern California economy and half the state’s population, the decisions made at Metropolitan on pivotal issues like drought response, the California WaterFix, and new local water resources have a tremendous impact on regional reliability and the California way of life.
On Thursday, April 19, 2018, MWDOC welcomed Karla Nemeth, Director of the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), as the keynote speaker at the MWDOC Water Policy Forum and Dinner.
Director Nemeth’s timely discussion with elected officials, business and community leaders, as well as water industry professionals throughout Orange County came on the heels of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) Board of Director’s momentous decision to finance the lion’s share of the California WaterFix at the full project level—two tunnels.
The $10.8 billion share MWD committed to the California WaterFix satisfies the urgent statewide need for a reliable water source for 25 million Californians, while also protecting the fragile Delta ecosystem.
On Wednesday, August 30, 2017, MWDOC hosted a Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring keynote speaker Roger K. Patterson, Assistant General Manager/Strategic Water Initiatives for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Mr. Patterson delivered an overview of the California WaterFix project and presented on the strategic importance of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, which is California’s primary freshwater supply hub and the heart of the State Water Project.
On Thursday, March 30, 2017, MWDOC hosted a Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring keynote speaker Jeffrey Kightlinger, General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Mr. Kightlinger engaged in a thoughtful and insightful discussion about past and present water issues facing Southern California.
On Friday, January 22, 2017, MWDOC hosted a Water Policy Forum & Dinner featuring guest speaker Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). At this event, hundreds of water industry professionals, elected officials and others, gathered to hear Ms. Marcus discuss in depth, the continuation of Governor Brown’s historic Executive Order which has directed the SWRCB to impose mandatory water restrictions statewide.
On Wednesday, July 29, 2015, MWDOC hosted a Water Policy Forum & Dinner at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa. Our featured guest speaker was Felicia Marcus, Chair of the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).
On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued a historical Executive Order to address California’s severe drought conditions and directed the SWRCB to implement mandatory water reductions that reduce potable urban water use by 25 percent statewide. At this event, hundreds of water leaders from throughout Southern California converged to hear SWRCB Chair, Felicia Marcus, speak about the drought, and the priorities of the SWRCB.
On Thursday, February 5, 2015, MWDOC held a Water Policy Forum & Dinner at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Costa Mesa. Our featured guest speaker was Dr. Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey. At the event, hundreds of water leaders from throughout Southern California converged to network and learn about Dr. Jones’ recent work studying the vulnerability of vital infrastructure within the City of Los Angeles. In identifying water systems as extremely vulnerable to earthquake damage, Dr. Jones developed a resiliency plan that outlines major changes needed to maintain the integrity of the water system during a major earthquake.