The board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California today immediately placed General Manager Adel Hagekhalil on paid administrative leave for up to 90 days to investigate various allegations.
Board Chair Adán Ortega, Jr. announced the action after the board met for more than five hours.
The board also named Deven Upadhyay, Metropolitan’s assistant general manager and executive officer, as interim general manager.
“I want to reassure Metropolitan’s staff and the public that our board is determined to act with strong unity and swiftness to protect everybody,” Ortega said. “We’ve made some very difficult decisions, but we maintain our commitment to the policies and direction of this organization as we continue our important work to deliver water reliability to the 19 million people we serve.”
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.
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