San Diego representative will lead the district’s governing board as climate change and regulatory changes increasingly stress reliability of region’s imported supplies

Longtime water professional and businessman Martin “Marty” Miller was unanimously elected today to be the next chair of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the largest supplier of treated water in the country.

Miller, who has represented the San Diego County Water Authority on Metropolitan’s 38-member board since 2021, will serve a two-year term beginning Jan. 1. He is the first representative from San Diego to lead Metropolitan’s board in its nearly 100-year history. He succeeds outgoing Chair Adán Ortega, Jr., who has led the board since 2022.

“I am grateful to my colleagues for placing their trust in my leadership for the next two years,” Chair-elect Miller said. “Our board faces some important decisions ahead on how to invest in our region’s long-term water supply reliability, while balancing concerns about the affordability of water. I am committed to working with my colleagues to produce smart solutions that benefit cities and communities across Southern California.”

Miller will lead the board as Metropolitan continues to adapt to the growing challenge of climate change, which is stressing the availability of water imported by the district from the Colorado River and the Northern Sierra. In the coming years, Metropolitan’s board is expected to consider major new investments in local supplies, storage and water use efficiency, along with the need to reinvest in the reliability of the district’s existing water treatment and delivery systems.

Miller has worked in the public water sector for nearly two decades. He has served on the Vista Irrigation District Board of Directors since 2008 and on the Water Authority’s board since 2011. His election marks the latest milestone in a new era of collaboration between the Water Authority and Metropolitan following the settlement of a 15-year legal dispute last summer.

With his election, Miller becomes the 21st chairman in Metropolitan’s 98-year history. As head of Metropolitan’s board, Miller will represent district policies and programs at the national, state and local levels. He also will preside over monthly meetings of the board and its executive committee. In addition, he will appoint members, chairs and vice chairs of the district’s regular standing committees, subcommittees, special committees and task forces.

Miller currently serves as chair of Metropolitan’s Finance, Affordability, Asset Management and Efficiency Committee, a position he held when he helped secure the unanimous approval of the district’s two-year budget, which included additional funding to fix aging infrastructure and invest in future reliability. Miller is also a member of Metropolitan’s Executive Committee; Engineering, Operations and Technology Committee; Legal and Claims Committee; Asset Financing Corporation; One Water and Adaptation Committee; Subcommittee on Imported Water; Subcommittee for CAMP4W; and Ad Hoc Committee on Colorado River Negotiations, and is vice chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations.

“Chair-Elect Miller has effectively chaired our FAAME Committee, recently helping to bring unanimous consensus for our biennial budget. Proven as a member of our leadership team, I’m confident that he will be a very effective leader for our board,” Chair Ortega said.

He has also served on the Association of California Water Agencies energy committee and the Local Agency Formation Commission Special Districts advisory committee.

Miller has owned a commercial construction company for more than 45 years. He is a member and former president of the Vista Optimist Club and of the Rancho Buena Vista Little League Board, a role he assumed after taking the league’s All-Star team to the Little League World Series in 2005. Born in Wendell, Idaho, Miller graduated from the College of Southern Idaho with a degree in architectural drafting. He and his family moved to Vista in 1986.

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