Heather Collins
President-Elect of American Water Works Association; Assistant Group Manager of Water System Operations at Metropolitan Water District of Southern CaliforniaHeather is the Assistant Chief of Operations for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. She assists with leading a team responsible for the reliable delivery of high-quality imported water to southern California. This team includes over 950 employees responsible for operating and maintaining Metropolitan’s Colorado River Aqueduct, treatment and distribution facilities; planning and scheduling water deliveries and power operations; and ensuring compliance with water quality, safety, and environmental regulations. Her team also provides in-house manufacturing, construction, emergency response and maintenance engineering services. Heather is the lead on regulatory & permitting efforts for Metropolitan’s Pure Water Southern California, a planned 150-million gallon per day, water purification program to beneficially reuse water for groundwater recharge and potential raw water augmentation adding resiliency to Metropolitan’s water supply portfolio. Heather is Registered Civil Engineer and licensed Water Treatment Operator, and currently serves as AWWA Association incoming President-Elect, Association Director, Past Vice-President and a member of the Water Utility Council.