SPEAKERS

Demetri J. Polyzos is a Senior Engineer in the Water Resource Management Group of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from UC Davis.  After graduation, Demetri took an engineering position at the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) in Northern California. There, he began working on seismic reliability projects evaluating aging water conveyance infrastructure and designing retrofits and replacements.   Later, he worked on the feasibility study for the Los Vaqueros Expansion Project where he gained first-hand knowledge of the issues surrounding the San Francisco Bay Delta including water quality, flow management, endangered species and competing interests.

After 10 years with CCWD, Demetri decided to move to Southern California partly to find out where "all" the water being exported from the Delta was going.  Demetri joined the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 2006 and is currently a Senior Engineer focusing on Metropolitan’s two imported water supplies from the State Water Project (SWP) and the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA).  Demetri chairs the State Water Contractors (SWC) Water Operations Committee, where he leads the coordination between the Department of Water Resources and the 27 participating SWP Contractors and discussions on key issues and decisions impacting water supplies.  He also participates in the SWC Operations Maintenance and Engineering Committee, and the SWC Energy Committee.   Demetri is also on the Colorado River Basin State Technical Work Group that developed a comprehensive basin-wide analysis of supply demand imbalances.

Demetri has taken his knowledge of water supply reliability, energy and infrastructure and has sat on various panels and has provided presentations educating the public on the management of water resources during periods of drought and the tools in place for citizens to achieve water use efficiency.

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