A Still Night at Eagle Mountain Pumping Plant. Photo by Glen Eastman.
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT MET THIS WEEK

A weekly newsletter by and for Metropolitan employees
March 2, 2020
Win Los Angeles Kings Game Tickets

As part of Metropolitan's partnership with local sports teams to support water conservation, we are giving away a pair of tickets to the LA Kings game vs the Montreal Canadiens on March 17. Enter the drawing here by 5pm, Monday March 9th. Winners will be notified and announced in WaterTalk.
Work Begins on New IRP: Blueprint for the Future
Metropolitan is an organization that prides itself on bringing emerging and innovative ideas into the mainstream, most notably in ways we plan for the future water needs of Southern California.

That legacy was on full display last week as the board kicked off work on the 2020 Integrated Resources Plan with the first meeting of the IRP committee. 

The IRP will help guide decisions for the next 25 years or more. Met's first plan was done in the 1990s and had specific targets to meet the gap between supply and demand. It was updated regularly to adapt to events like severe droughts, population growth and water coming from new local supplies.

The new plan, which will be developed over the next several months, will build on many of the well-tested and successful programs to invest in water storage, local resources programs and conservation.

But rather than coming up with targets to meet a specific gap, the plan will focus on scenarios with different alternative views of the future. These scenarios, which will be shaped through input from the board and member agencies, along with technical analysis and expertise from staff, will provide insight into resource development needs and inform key policy discussions by the board. 

Outreach activities will ensure the needed input from member agencies, key stakeholders, the public and employees. That’s right, we want staff from around the district to have a chance to share their ideas in the development of the 2020 IRP. Stay tuned for more details.
The Story of General Patton and Metropolitan
It’s been said that politics and war make for strange bedfellows. Metropolitan historian David Keller recently detailed one such instance as part of the Patriot’s Day lecture series at the George S. Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit (between Palm Springs and Blythe).

David recounted how circumstances paired Metropolitan’s delivery of Colorado River water via its newly-built aqueduct with Gen. Patton as he prepared his troops for fighting in World War II.

Patton had been scouting the Mojave Desert for a suitable training site in conditions similar to the conditions they would face in the harsh North African deserts. He eventually sited his Training Center on 18,000 square miles of California and Arizona desert, making it the world’s largest military installation and maneuver area.

Unsubstantiated tales have circulated that the general simply took the water from the open canal along the 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct to support his 2 nd Army Armored Division troops. Historical records, however, show Patton met with Metropolitan General Manager Julian Hinds and Chief Aqueduct Engineer Bob Diemer in 1942 to hammer out an agreement for water, power, and phone access during training.

At the lecture, David presented images of Metropolitan and Mojave Desert history, including the pioneering 1923-28 CRA surveyor explorations. His slides featured construction and support services, the West Iron Mountain Tunnel holing through, workers, and even the 1931 Big Map, on display at the museum. To view a presentation click here .
Planning On and
Off the Field
At more than 100 softball games a year - from the Inland Empire to Simi Valley to Arizona – you’ll find Brandon Goshi passionately leading a competitive girls fastpitch softball team to victory.

What began as an opportunity for Brandon to coach in his daughter’s recreational softball league has transformed into trips around the country with the Chino Hills-based high school-aged travel team. 

Brandon , Metropolitan's manager of Water Policy and Strategy with Water Resource Management, is part of Firecrackers Softball, one of the largest travel softball organizations in the country. He trains the team year-round on everything from competition fundamentals to fastpitch softball technique. Through it all, he’s watched his daughter become a force to be reckoned with.

“Coaching has allowed me to participate in my daughter’s growth. She was seven years old when I started. She’s now 15 and competing at the national level.”

Recently, the team placed eighth out of 42 at the 2019 Premier Girls Fastpitch National Championships. But Brandon’s ultimate goal is to prepare the girls for their futures on and off the field.

“I’m constantly reading about game strategy. That same kind of planning goes into my work here at Metropolitan – it’s all about how you prepare for what’s ahead.”

Brandon has planned Metropolitan’s water resources portfolio since the inception of the Integrated Resource Plan in 1996. With 26 years of expertise, he continues to lead the Firecrackers' players and the district toward a bright, reliable future. 
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