SPEAKERS

Tina Shields currently serves as Imperial District’s Colorado River resources manager where her responsibilities are concentrated on planning and water conservation management functions. She oversees IID’s Colorado River water supply entitlement with a focus on the implementation of water management policies and the coordination of various water conservation and transfer programs. She represents the district’s water interests at local, state and federal levels – protecting IID’s senior water rights and its annual 3.1 million acre-foot allocation of Colorado River water.

Shields has directed the district in a wide range of issues related to water rights, supply and demand planning, resource management, water quality, regulatory compliance and water conservation. This includes the development and implementation of the integrated regional water management plan, IID’s water resources management plan and IID’s interim water supply policy. All are crucial to balancing the immediate and long-term needs of IID’s agricultural water users while ensuring that residential, commercial and industrial demands are met, including those forecasted for the emerging local renewable energy industry.

A registered civil engineer, Shields provides technical guidance and recommendations for water policy decisions at IID and assists in the implementation and oversight of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, a historic pact that forms the foundation of California’s ability to live within its 4.4 million acre-foot annual apportionment of Colorado River water.

She also oversees the implementation activities of the IID/San Diego County Water Authority water conservation and transfer program. Her work on QSA and water transfer matters includes issues ranging from state and federal environmental documentation and compliance to water efficiency and fallowing program planning and administration.

Shields joined IID in 1992 as an engineering technician and rose through the ranks of engineering and supervisory positions in the district’s Water Resources, Planning and Management sections until being promoted to management in 2002.

She is a graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, and has completed coursework toward a master’s in Public Administration at San Diego State University. She is licensed by the state of California as a Professional Civil Engineer and Land Surveyor-in-Training.

She was recognized as a Water Education Foundation Water Leader in 2001.

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