SAWPA Departments

SAWPA's Management and Administration team interfaces with and supports SAWPA's Commission, as well as interacts with other water agencies, governmental entities, and stakeholders in the watershed. The team provides leadership on initiatives and facilitation to resolve complex and difficult issues (e.g., drought-proof the watershed, water supply, water quality, water rights, wastewater, and biosolids).

The team also coordinates monitoring programs and proactively works with legislators to ensure that water legislation is developed and implemented in the best interests of the Santa Ana Watershed, the region, and the State.

SAWPA’s Administration Team provides quality administrative support to the SAWPA Commission, the JPA, LESJWA, and other stakeholder and task force efforts, as well as to Executive Management, Engineering and Operations, Water Resources and Planning, and Information Technology Departments of SAWPA.  The Team also is responsible for providing legislative support; records management of all Agency/LESJWA records, as well as off-site storage of historical and vital records; facilities management; purchasing; human resources; and public information.

The Engineering and Operations team is responsible for operations and maintenance of existing facilities, design and construction of capital improvements, and implementation of funding programs. The existing facilities are the Santa Ana Regional Interceptor (SARI) Line, and the SAWPA building.

SAWPA's approach is to identify requirements and needed projects, build concensus, identify funding sources, construct, and then turn them over to another agency for ownership/operation. This work usually is accomplished in coordination with one or more other agencies. SAWPA is responsible for several projects that have been created in this way, including the Chino Desalter I in the Chino Basin, the West Riverside Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Rapid Infiltration and Extraction (RIX) Plant in Colton, and the Arlington Desalter Plant in Riverside.

The Engineering and Operations team is involved in managing a series of projects being performed by member agencies and other stakeholders under the Costa-Machado Act of 2000 (Proposition 13), and operations of the SARI Line. Projects being accomplished by the Engineering and Operations team are discussed on the Engineering Projects page.

The Planning team focuses on the future of the watershed including water supplies, demands, potential new sources of water, and coordinating with the numerous agencies that work with or are affected by water issues, wastewater, and various related activities.

Important aspects of the team's work include major inter-agency water quality programs, such as the Basin Monitoring Program and the Emerging Constituents Workgroup, facilitation of regulatory programs such as the Middle Santa Ana River, and the Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake TMDL Task Force programs, development of future plans including the Santa Ana Integrated Watershed Plan, and administration of other major programs such as the Lake Elsinore & San Jacinto Watersheds Authority (LESJWA). The list of projects being accomplished by the Planning Department are discussed on the Planning Projects page.

The Information Systems and Data Management team is responsible for all computer and communications technology used by the agency for daily operations. The team identifies and implements technology solutions to make SAWPA more efficient and effective, and develops and maintains water-related data used by SAWPA staff for data analysis and dissemination. The SAWPA IS team provides training and related support to SAWPA staff, and maintains the agency's computers, networks, telecommunications, and Internet capabilities. The team also uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS), database tools, Internet tools, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and a variety of other tools to manage and analyze data to support projects for SAWPA and its member agencies.

The Finance team is accountable for the daily administration of SAWPA’s finances by establishing internal controls for the financial well being of the agency. Responsibilities range from coordinating and monitoring SAWPA's annual budget (approved each year by SAWPA's Commission), to payroll and benefits administration, accounts payable and receivable for enterprise funds, as well as State grant funding received for regional capital projects approved by the State of California. This team also is responsible for cash flow management and the investment and security of SAWPA's reserve accounts. Other special finance projects include rate setting for the Santa Ana Regional Interceptor (SARI) enterprise fund, which transports wastewater flows from the SAWPA member agencies in the upper watershed to treatment facilities located downstream in Orange County. This group works closely with SAWPA’s project management team looking at the fiscal impact to the agency relative to new projects, and upgrades to existing systems operated by the agency.