Dec 17, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

San Diego County Water Authority’s Fong-Sakai Joins Metropolitan Board

Registered civil engineer Lois Fong-Sakai was formally introduced as a representative of the San Diego County Water Authority to Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors Tuesday.

Fong-Sakai, who joined the SDCWA board in April 2015 as a representative of the City of San Diego, succeeds Jerry Butkiewicz, who served on Metropolitan’s board since August 2018.

Fong-Sakai brings experience in water planning and policy, including work as a project manager and engineer for major water projects such as reclamation programs for West Basin and Central Basin municipal water districts, and the Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant at San Francisco International Airport.

In addition, she worked on the Fiesta Island Replacement Project, which relocated a sewage sludge facility in San Diego’s Mission Bay; and the University City Subsystem project to design and build reclamation pipelines. In addition, Fong-Sakai contributed to white papers for the City of San Diego that formed the basis for pursuing water reclamation, reuse and purification projects.

Fong-Sakai has been an active volunteer in her San Diego community. She is currently involved in several organizations, including as a member of the American Water Works Association’s Water for People, which raises funding to help plan, design and build sustainable water systems in nine developing countries. She is past president and a current member of the Society of Women Engineers, California Water Environment Association, and the Asian Business Association. For the past 25 years, she has volunteered with the foster organization Promises2Kids, and was named San Diego County’s 2020 Volunteer of the Year.

Fong-Sakai and her husband Willie have owned Jade Coast Software, Inc., a software development company, since 1998. She earned both her master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering and bachelor’s degree in chemistry from University of California, Berkeley. Fong-Sakai is a registered civil engineer in California and Nevada.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provide 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.

Note to editors: Photo of Director Fong-Sakai is available upon request.