Students learn about water and the Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center, thanks to Education Programs' Mark Moss
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK
A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
November 25, 2019
Want to visit the new Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center ? The next public tour is Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. Bring your friends and family too! Kids (ages 10+) are welcome. Sign up online by Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Community Leaders Briefings Listen and Learn
Several times each year, Metropolitan joins with state and federal elected officials to host community briefings in Southern California and share information about key water issues affecting the region. 

These Community Leader Briefings draw between 50-120 residents, business leaders, influencers and local officials. Attendees hear from Metropolitan’s executives and board members representing the communities to build a better understanding of water operations and current issues.

In recent months, Metropolitan has held eight briefings:

-Assembly member Nazarian in Van Nuys

-Assembly member Rubio in El Monte (Her sister, Senator Rubio also attended)

-Senator Leyva and Assembly member Reyes in Chino

-Senator Archuleta in Norwalk
-Congressman Lowenthal in Long Beach

-Congressman Correa in Anaheim

-Congressman Rouda in Newport Beach

At the most recent event, held last week in Glendale, Assembly member Friedman - who served on Metropolitan’s Board before her election to the state Legislature - discussed her priorities including water conservation.
Fielding audience questions were GM Kightlinger and Directors Ramos (Burbank), Atwater (Foothill), Gharpetian (Glendale) and Quinn (Los Angeles).
Crash. Fire. Text. Carpool: Story of MWD Commute
Before 6 a.m. last Friday, the unofficial Metropolitan OC commuter notification network had sprung into action. Activating a call/text list of about 15 employees, Engineering Services Group’s Principal Engineer James Hong warned fellow commuters of a train crash on the Los Angeles-bound OC 681 Metrolink train.

The train had collided with an RV on the tracks that was subsequently hit by a freight train too and burst into flames. Link to LA Times video

On board the train were about 120 people, at least four of whom were Metropolitan employees. They found each other and made sure everyone was okay. Also contacted was WRM Group Manager Brad Coffey who received a cell phone video of the fire and a text message informing him of the accident.

With a change in plans to now drive to work, Brad offered rides to some of those stranded. “I picked up James, Shradha Upadhayay and Al Matamoros, ” Brad explained. They rendezvoused at a Burger King near the accident site and headed to work.

Metropolitan covers a service area of 5,200 square miles, and its employees travel from points spread across the Southland. For an agency with such a far reach, it is notable that employees are always looking out for each other. 

"Friday morning's accident was one more example of how our employees communicate and support each other - even outside of work," Brad said. "I'm thankful that no one was hurt, and glad I could help my co-workers."
Co-op Position Leads to 25+ Year Career
It started with an ad for a part time position in the Co-op program, Tae Yun recalls. He was an undergraduate in the Civil Engineering Dept. at Cal Poly Pomona at the time and looking for a summer job.

“Little did I know that 25 years later, I would still be working for Metropolitan. The Co-op program provided me with a great opportunity to get real-world experience and helped me get where I am today.”

Tae is the Unit Manager of System Operations at the Eagle Rock facility, but is currently on an interim assignment managing WSO's Operations Planning Unit.

Tae started his Metropolitan career at the Oxidation Demonstration Project at Weymouth as an Engineering Aide, and worked his way up to become Team Manager of the Operations Compliance Team in Water Quality.

“Delivering water seems so simple, but once you start learning about all of the intricacies and complexities of our system, you really appreciate that you can go home and turn on your faucet and water will flow,” he says.

One of the landmark projects on Tae's list of major accomplishments is his role in the demonstration-scale evaluation of ozone which was the basis for developing the full-scale design criteria that Metropolitan has at all five of its treatment plants.

In his spare time, Tae likes to travel, hike, camp and spend time with his family. His favorite winter sport is snowboarding which he does at Lake Tahoe, Park City, Mammoth and other winter destinations.  
New hires, transfers, promotions & retirements are posted here each month.
NEXT LIST: DECEMBER 2
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