A double rainbow over the Diemer Treatment Plant, taken December 6, 2018 by Trudi Kew.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK
A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
December 10, 2018
Beautiful Student Art Featured in 2019 Calendar
Last week, more than 125 students, parents, teachers and local water agency representatives gathered at Metropolitan’s HQ for the “Water is Life” student art calendar event. 

Here is a slide show of the event, featuring some of the winning students, staff, Chairwoman-elect Gloria Gray and former Operations Manager Eddie Rigdon who was visiting that day.

Each spring, thousands of K-12 grade students submit artwork to their participating member and retail agencies. A final selection of 36 pieces is featured in the calendar that is distributed to about 11,000 recipients.

"This art challenge inspires students to learn about our precious water resources while thinking of creative ways to promote our contest theme: Water is Life,” according to Royetta Perry who coordinates the event.

The cover artwork for this year's calendar was created by Izabel Franco from River Springs Charter School, representing Western Municipal Water District and the City of Corona Department of Water and Power. This year’s winners range in age from Kindergartner Elle Manners to high school senior Janeen Kunze.

Employees can get a copy of the calendar by contacting Royetta at (213) 217-6926.
Initial Allocation for State Water Project Announced
After a dry start to the Water Year, rain and snow has finally arrived. The last 12 days of November were enough to bring the current statewide snowpack to 106% of normal. And last week's big storm in Southern California provided a much-needed boost to this region's local supplies.

Each fall, the California Department of Water Resources announces its initial water allocation for the 29 State Water Project contractors for the coming year. Metropolitan is the largest of the SWP contractors and receives about half of the water from the system.

This year, the SWP allocation is starting at 10%, though that number will change as snow and rain fall in the northern part of the state. The lowest initial SWP allocation was 5% in 2014.

“Water Year 2019 has started dry and many of the state’s largest reservoirs are below average,” DWR’s Director Karla Nemeth said last month.

Several factors are used to determine allocations including reservoir storage, snowpack, precipitation and releases to meet local deliveries.

The California Data Exchange Center website  shows current conditions at many weather stations. Information on water supply conditions for Metropolitan and its member agencies can be found here .
A Champion at Met and in Lifesaving Competitions
Ann Finley began her engineering career in Water Systems Operations in 1995 managing power contracts, performing technical studies and analyzing power transmission-related impacts to Met’s 300 miles of transmission lines. “I’m involved in all aspects of power generation, as well as contractual and marketing areas,” says Ann .

Her career at Met and 10 years at LADWP is matched only by her status as a world-class competitor in lifesaving competitions. Ann began competing in 2002 when she was hired by the LA County Fire Dept. as an Ocean Lifeguard at 39 years old, the oldest woman to complete the lifeguard academy.

Last month, Ann competed in the 2018 Lifesaving World Championships in Australia. With 7,000 participants from 45 nations, Ann received three gold medals and one silver medal for women in the 55-59 year old category. Three days of competitions were held in an Olympic-sized swimming pool and three days were ocean swimming events.

In August, Ann also received seven first place awards at the U.S. Lifeguard Association championships and has medaled in several previous world championships in Holland, France, Australia, Germany, Egypt and Italy. “You could say lifeguarding is in my blood,” says Ann , whose father and three siblings were all lifeguards during the summer months in Wisconsin. 
New hires, transfers, promotions & retirements are posted here each month.   
NEXT LIST: JANUARY 2
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