Metropolitan Water District chair outlines litigation settlement, Pure Water project and Delta study

Adán Fortega, chair of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, briefed the San Fernando City Council on July 8 on a range of long‑term water planning items that the district says will shape regional rates and supply reliability.

Fortega said Metropolitan and the San Diego County Water Authority recently settled 15 years of litigation over rate disputes that had cost member agencies about $40 million. That settlement, he said, clears a path for the district to pursue a broader adaptation strategy and rate changes that increase fixed revenue to smooth future volumetric price spikes.

The chair described two large projects now under active study or environmental review. Pure Water, a multi‑billion‑dollar wastewater purification program he said is expected to be the largest such facility in the nation, is in its environmental review process and remains under public comment. Separately, Fortega said the Delta Conveyance project — a proposed tunnel to move low‑salinity Northern Sierra water around fragile Delta levees — is under study and will only go forward if state trailer‑bill funding provides sufficient technical information for an informed decision. He said Metropolitan still sees value in preserving Northern Sierra supplies as a low‑salinity “secret sauce” for Southern California recycling programs.

Fortega discussed a newly framed Climate Adaptation Master Plan for Water that would be used to evaluate investments over multi‑decade horizons and help protect credit ratings by demonstrating risk management and resilience planning to lenders. He said the district is trying to shift more revenue to fixed charges (property tax and other fixed elements) so volumetric rates are less volatile, noting a goal of increasing fixed revenue to a majority share by 2026.

On the Colorado River, Fortega said negotiations continue in multiple tracks — how to allocate shortages within California, coordination with Arizona and Nevada, and discussions with Upper Basin states — and that those talks are time‑sensitive. He also said Metropolitan is seeking a new permanent general manager and hopes a transition will be completed in 2025 so the incoming manager can participate in key negotiations.

Why this matters: Fortega presented the issues as systemic and long‑term — litigation costs, allocation structures, and capital programs that will affect how member agencies set rates and how cities such as San Fernando manage water reliability in drought and high‑variability climates. Much of Metropolitan’s near‑term financial strategy rests on a combination of fixed revenue and staged capital choices that Fortega described as designed to avoid simultaneous build‑outs that could “break the bank.”

Council follow‑up and local notes: Councilmembers asked how local turf‑replacement or tree‑rebate programs interact with lost water sales; Fortega said Metropolitan is exploring turnkey direct‑install options to capture participation in low‑income communities and to preserve some local water‑department revenue. He also noted Metropolitan’s involvement in selling excess San Diego supplies and in a range of conservation programs to keep the aqueduct full.

Sources: Presentation to San Fernando City Council, July 8, 2025; remarks by Adán Fortega, Metropolitan Water District chair.