The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted to appoint a new top manager, dismissing Adel Hagekhalil after a seven-month investigation into allegations of discrimination that exposed deep divisions within California’s largest urban water supplier.
The new general manager of the MWD will be Deven Upadhyay, who has been serving in the position on an interim basis since Hagekhalil was placed on leave last year.
Board members announced their decision to make a final offer of a legal settlement to Hagekhalil after holding a closed-door meeting to discuss the findings of investigations into allegations against him.
The findings of the completed investigations have not been made public. And details of the proposed settlement were not immediately disclosed. The board told Hagekhalil that if he didn’t accept their offer, the agency would terminate his employment “without cause.”
Hagekhalil’s lawyer, Kerry Garvis Wright, said he rejected the offer.
“This decision is nothing more than a political power grab, clearing the way for Metropolitan to return to old and antiquated water policies,” Garvis Wright said in an email. “Over the past week, Mr. Hagekhalil offered to resolve his legal claims against MWD, but now is left with no choice but to pursue all his legal options to protect his rights and reputation.”
Hagekhalil was placed on leave in June in response to allegations by the agency’s chief financial officer, Katano Kasaine, who accused him of sexism and alleged he had harassed, demeaned and sidelined her and created a hostile work environment. Hagekhalil denied the accusations, saying he did nothing wrong.
Kasaine criticized MWD’s handling of the process during a public portion of Wednesday’s meeting, saying the board had “chosen to reward Mr. Hagekhalil, despite clear findings of wrongdoing.”
Some of the accusations against Hagekhalil were aired publicly when Kasaine’s complaint to the board was leaked to the media in June.
Dawn Collins, a lawyer for Kasaine, told the board that the leak of her confidential letters regarding her complaints led to her becoming a “target of bullying and public scrutiny that has taken a severe toll on her, both professionally and personally.” Collins urged MWD to act transparently and “release the investigation report.”
Collins said at least one of Kasaine’s complaints was substantiated by the investigation, that Hagekhalil “treated her less favorably than her male colleagues.”
However, Garvis Wright said the investigation did not conclude that the supposed preferential treatment was because of Kasaine’s gender, and therefore there was no violation of the district’s anti-discrimination policy. “These decisions — which fall squarely within Mr. Hagekhalil’s discretion as General Manager — were made without regard to gender but rather what was in the best interest of the agency,” she said.
Garvis Wright said that Hagekhalil did not engage in any misconduct, and that the investigation “did not substantiate the alleged retaliation, harassment, or hostile work environment.”
Hagekhalil at MWD headquarters in L.A. in 2023.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Hagekhalil was the district’s first Arab American general manager. His lawyer and supporters have said they are concerned that anti-Arab sentiments among some board members may have tainted the investigation.
While Hagekhalil was on leave, one board member, John Morris, was censured by the MWD board for making a racist remark about another district employee. The agency’s officials said that case did not directly involve Hagekhalil. Nevertheless, the MWD board barred Morris from taking part in the deliberations and votes regarding the Hagekhalil investigation.
“The Board voted to terminate his contract without cause, which is a continuation of the racist, discriminatory, and retaliatory treatment of him throughout his tenure with the agency,” Garvis Wright said. “As an Arab and Muslim American, he and others were subjected to overtly racist comments and actions by Board members who organized opposition to him and voted against him.”
Hans Johnson, president of the East Area Progressive Democrats, said he is deeply concerned about anti-Arab bias on the board. He said acting against Hagekhalil “without having rectified the problems with documented bias by members of this board is profoundly troubling and will be a lasting shame on MWD.”
The Metropolitan Water District delivers water to cities and agencies that supply 19 million people across Southern California. As the district’s top manager, Hagekhalil played a central role in efforts to transform the agency and shift its mix of water supplies to help Southern California adapt to worsening droughts intensified by climate change.
“Mr. Hagekhalil was hired to reform MWD, and he achieved significant accomplishments, guided the agency through historic drought conditions and earned excellent performance reviews every year,” Garvis Wright said. “However, change is never easy, and some saw change as a threat and filed several baseless claims against him.”
Hagekhalil previously worked for the city of Los Angeles leading programs focusing on sewers and streets. He was appointed MWD general manager in 2021 after a bitter power struggle among board members.
During a series of recent meetings, dozens of Hagekhalil’s supporters, including colleagues, environmental advocates and L.A. city officials, praised him as a reformer and a talented leader, and urged the board to reinstate him.
“What has transpired here is an injustice, and this board should be embarrassed,” said Charming Evelyn, who leads the Sierra Club’s water committee in Southern California. “What are we doing here? We are impugning the character of a good man. This is wrong.”
The district is led by a 38-member Board of Directors. Each member is appointed by one of the MWD’s 26 member agencies, which include cities and water suppliers.
During their closed-door session, 27 board members voted to present Hagekhalil the MWD’s “best and final offer” of a legal settlement — the details of which have not been disclosed — and if the offer was not accepted, to terminate his employment without cause.
Six board members voted “no,” and five were absent.
Mark Gold of Santa Monica was one of those who voted against the majority. He has praised Hagekhalil and said he did not think he should lose his job. Gold has said the investigation revealed a “toxic culture” within the agency that needs to be addressed.
Last week, Gold recommended a series of corrective actions, such as changing the procedures for resolving disputes and reassessing the organizational structure to reduce risks of conflicts.
“It’s just concerning the amount of dysfunction that’s there,” Gold said after the vote. “It’s important that we improve the culture.”
The board voted unanimously to appoint Upadhyay, a 29-year MWD veteran, to the top management post.
Deven Upadhyay, shown at a Nov. 19 board meeting, has been named the new general manager of the Metropolitan Water District.
(Metropolitan Water District)
“I think there’s an acknowledgment that the culture has room for improvement,” Gold said. “And the hope is that someone who’s as respected as Deven will help us move in that direction.”
The upheaval has occurred at a time when MWD’s leaders are involved in major efforts such as preparing a climate change adaptation plan and developing a large water recycling facility. The MWD board also voted last month to spend about $141 million for planning work on the state’s proposed water tunnel in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Adán Ortega Jr., chair of the MWD board, said after the vote that the panel “took decisive steps to stabilize our organization and workforce.”
He also said the water district “takes all allegations of discrimination, harassment and unfair treatment seriously.”
