Makeover for a
Stalwart Station
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For an agency known for impressive infrastructure and civil engineering wonders, a small pump station in Sun Valley can hardly compete. But the Greg Avenue Pressure Control Structure is considered a lynchpin in Metropolitan’s ability to move Colorado River water to the western portions of the service area.
Now, it’s getting a $21 million upgrade to revitalize its 50 or more year-old equipment and improve reliability by replacing existing pumps, control building, surge tanks and key electrical, mechanical and control equipment.
Serving as the project's design manager is
Hedieh Esfahani
, associate engineer on the General Design Team in the Design Section. In her position,
Hedieh
is the liaison between the Met Design Team, the design consultant and Met’s construction management team at the project site.
“This project has definitely presented its fair share of challenges throughout, but I feel very lucky that I have such an amazing and hardworking team surrounding me to help us get to finish line successfully,”
Hedieh
said.
A milestone occurred a few weeks ago with the delivery of two pumps. Watch the video
here
.
The project began in March 2019 and is expected to be completed next February, despite a one month delay in the spring due to COVID-19.
Hedieh
came to Metropolitan three years ago after working on the Regional Recycled Water Project and Second Lower Feeder PCCP projects as a consultant. She has degrees in both Civil and Environmental Engineering. Outside of work,
Hedieh
enjoys knitting, pottery and playing piano.
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Health Care Innovation from Met's Early Days
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If you tuned in to last week’s Innovation Hour webinar, you heard several stories about the District’s legacy of innovation including Metropolitan’s role in the origin of the Kaiser-managed health care system. Here’s a bit more of the story, taken from Metropolitan’s archives and a
Press-Enterprise story
.
During the Great Depression, Metropolitan constructed its aqueduct that stretched across much of the desert to deliver Colorado River water to Lake Mathews for a thirsty Southern California.
The workers of the CRA system performed dangerous work in blistering temperatures, sometimes involving tunneling, climbing and the use of dynamite.
A young doctor, Stanley Garfield, had just finished his residency at USC Medical Center at a time when jobs were scarce. He was able to secure a contract to care for the construction workers who were building the aqueduct. With offices in Desert Center and working with three nurses, Garfield provided services and billed the individual workers a nickel a day for the on-site medical care. The prepaid system was so popular, a reported 90% of the aqueduct workers joined the plan.
Building on that innovative health care model, Henry J. Kaiser later collaborated with Garfield to provide care for workers on the Grand Coulee Dam project in Washington. And a few years after that, Kaiser hired Garfield to extend the health services to workers at his shipbuilding operations in Oakland.
Today, Kaiser Permanente Health still has its headquarters in Oakland and is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health care plans. But its roots are with Metropolitan.
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A Champion of
Positive Messaging
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In pre-pandemic times, if you walked past
Tuannee Holmes’
cubicle at HQ, you surely had your spirits lifted by the inspirational messages she posted each day. Since mid-March, she has been emailing a ‘Daily Inspiration’ to co-workers, keeping spirits high.
“One morning while commuting, I overheard someone say, 'If you’re looking for it, inspiration can be found anywhere!' I wanted to have a positive influence on my coworkers’ days, so I decided to post an affirmation that organically turned into part of my daily routine,” she says.
Tuannee
is an Administrative Assistant III in the Member Services and Public Outreach section of External Affairs.
She works closely with member agencies to arrange Inspection Trips for directors and handle logistics for the 75-plus trips that serve more than 2,000 people each season. But with the Inspection Trip program paused due to COVID-19, she and the inspection trip managers are looking at other innovative ways to continue the outreach, including creating videos that can serve as virtual trips to some Metropolitan facilities.
Tuannee
is also the newly elected president of Metropolitan's Black Employees Association where she “hopes to effect change by strengthening solidarity, playing an integral role on the DE&I Council and leading an impactful community outreach program.”
Before coming to Metropolitan in 2015,
Tuannee
worked for a private PR firm. She is the mother of three and has two beautiful grandchildren. In her spare time, she assists the media and production team at her church.
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