About

Learn about The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, including MWD Financing Team and MWD Management Team.

About The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California might not be a household name. But if you’re a Southern Californian, there’s a good chance you get some of your water through Metropolitan. We serve 26 public water agencies — cities, municipal water districts and one county water authority — that then deliver supplies directly or indirectly to 19 million people in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties.

We have imported water from the Colorado River since 1941 and from Northern California since the early 1970s. We are the largest single contractor of the State Water Project and a major supporter of Southern California water conservation and water recycling programs, along with other local water management activities. 

Whether it’s historic drought or the longer-term threat of climate change, we’re here to protect the region and provide high-quality affordable water in an environmentally responsible way. 

For more information about The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, please visit Our Story here.

MWD Financing Team

Samuel L. Smalls

Manager of Treasury & Debt Management

(213) 217-7863

ssmalls@mwdh2o.com

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Katano Kasaine

Assistant General Manager, Finance & Administration

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Adam Benson

Group Manager, Finance

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Arnout van den Berg

Revenue and Budget Manager

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MWD Management Team

From the time they were tasked with carving a water lifeline from the Colorado River across the desert, Metropolitan managers have built a culture of hard work, determination and innovation. Many of those early leaders helped forge and create the legal and political framework that enabled an alliance of Southern California cities to form Metropolitan. They have since helped lead the agency to meet the demands of a burgeoning population in the face of various challenges, including drought, an evolving regulatory environment and, most recently, climate change. While Metropolitan’s tasks and responsibilities have evolved and expanded, the basic management structure has remained. Today, the managers and their staff are nationally recognized experts in the water industry.

Metropolitan is managed by four departments whose heads report directly to the Board of Directors: the General Manager, General Counsel, General Auditor and Ethics Officer.

For more information, please view our Management page here.

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