Jeff Kightlinger, GM, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Southern California’s Water: A History of Southern California Development and Challenges for the Future

California is a nation state with an economy that would rank it in the top ten nations of the world if it were a stand-alone country.  The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California serves water to 19 million Southern Californians – that is half the state’s population and almost 60% of California’s economy.  The history of the Metropolitan Water District and Southern California’s water supply is really the story of the development of Southern California.  Without the development of our massive integrated water supply infrastructure, the vibrant, booming, successful Southern California we know today would not exist.  Jeffrey Kightlinger will tell the story of how Metropolitan came to be, the challenges of maintaining a reliable water supply in an arid region, and how Metropolitan plans to meet the challenges of the future.

Jeffrey Kightlinger is General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The Metropolitan Water District is the largest municipal water provider in the nation delivering an average of over 2 billion gallons of water a day to 19 million customers across Southern California.  Metropolitan serves one out of every two Californians in the six counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura.

Kightlinger was appointed general manager in February 2006. As General Manager, he manages the District’s $1.8 billion annual budget and 1,800 employees to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of high quality water every day throughout Southern California.  He reports to a board of 38 members representing 26 member agencies.