July 23, 2026

To build the water workforce of tomorrow, Metropolitan and its partners are recruiting students today through new educational and career coaching programs.

This spring, Carson High School's Environmental Science, Engineering & Technology Academy piloted an eight-week afterschool program for students to learn more about where their water comes from and the range of job opportunities in the water and wastewater sectors.

The water/wastewater afterschool program culminated in May with a tour of the demonstration plant at the Grace F. Napolitano Pure Water Southern California Innovation Center and a career panel with staff from Metropolitan and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

Graduates from that program who were already 18 years old were invited to apply for a two-week Career Exploration Pilot Program in July. The program, currently underway, includes meeting with staff from partner agencies, touring facilities and job shadowing. For their capstone project, participants will present ideas for engaging more young people in the water sector.

"Before this, I didn't know anything about the water industry," said Ruben Bautista, who will study civil engineering at UC Merced in the fall. "In the program you get to talk to the engineers, learn what they do and how they do it. I feel like my mind is expanding so much."

The Career Exploration programs are a collaboration with the City of Carson, Carson High School, West Basin Municipal Water District, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the South Bay Workforce Investment Board and Metropolitan.

Learn more about jobs at Metropolitan and in the water industry and Metropolitan's education programs.

As Metropolitan staff began reaching out to Spanish-speaking residents about Pure Water Southern California, they quickly recognized that literal translations of technical terms were not enough to help communities understand and meaningfully participate in discussions about the program.

To share how they moved beyond word-for-word translation to foster cultural intelligence in community engagement, Principal Public Affairs Representative Elisa Mendez and Senior Public Affairs Representative Ivonne Castillo hosted a workshop entitled Más Que Palabras: Communicating with Spanish-Speaking Communities Beyond Translation at the California Association of Public Information Officials annual conference in May.

Scan the QR code for the presentation.

Free Family Event

Join Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and Metropolitan for the Clean N Green Festival, featuring tours of the Pure Water Southern California demonstration plant, a mobile aquarium, live music and more.

Saturday, Aug. 1

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility

24501 South Figueroa St., Carson

Pure Water

Southern California

public tour

Saturday, Aug. 29

at 10 a.m.