Class Research Project: Water Transfers in
California
What was your job when you were in the water
leaders class? I was an associate attorney at my current
firm – Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard
What does your job focus on these days?
I serve as general counsel to several public water agencies, so
my legal focus is broader than my Water Leader days. For example,
I now need to be concerned about the Brown Act, public
contracting and construction law, the Public Records Act,
conflict-of-interest rules, and Prop 218, rather than primarily
just water and environmental laws. Working as a lawyer is
exciting as our world is constantly changing, such as
implementation of the new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act
(SGMA).
What was your job when you were in the water leaders
class? Associate Attorney for Somach Simmons & Dunn
What does your job focus on these days?
I’m the senior attorney in the department that handles the
natural resources and environmental issues for our members across
California with respect to water, land use, endangered species
and air quality. As a practical matter, though, 70 percent of my
work is water-related.
Class Project Theme: Current Views on the CALFED
Bay-Delta Program
What do you do?
A large part of my job is to analyze potential legislation and
regulation for impacts on Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, its member agencies and the drinking water industry.
I’m also active in several trade associations including the
Association of California Water Agencies (Vice-Chair, Water
Quality Committee). My main responsibility is to ensure that
Metropolitan continues to comply with all federal, state and
local regulations.
What was your job when you were in the Water Leaders
class? Legislative Coordinator for the United Farm
Workers (UFW) AFL-CIO covering labor and environmental issues.
Class Research Project: Water Quality in
California
What was your job when you were a Water Leader:
A consultant with CH2M Hill
We came across Mark Tompkins when he recommended a current
employee from FlowWest to become a 2016 Water Leader. We found it
interesting that two other former water leaders – Mike Urkov,
class of 1999 and Paul Frank, class of 2010 – also work at the
small company. Below is a conversation Tompkins had with
Executive Director Jennifer Bowles.
I help manage the district’s water department, consisting of more
than 450 dedicated staff focused on managing and delivering IID’s
annual 3.1 million acre-feet Colorado River entitlement to our
largely agricultural customer base in southeastern California.
