Calleguas MWD General Manager Named 2024 Ventura County Water Leader by Calleguas Municipal Water District Sep 25, 2024 Member Submitted News On September 19, 2024, the Association of Water Agencies of Ventura County (AWA) presented Kristine McCaffrey, General Manager of Calleguas Municipal Water District (Calleguas), with its annual Water Leadership Award. Since 1998, this award has recognized one Ventura County leader each year who exhibited exceptional leadership qualities in the field of water. Past recipients have included elected officials, water sector professionals, organizational leaders, and others. “Kristine is a true champion — a tireless advocate for water resource management in Ventura County, and a leader who consistently goes above and beyond to protect and preserve our water supplies,” noted Ann De Martini, AWA President. “With a career spanning decades, she has consistently demonstrated exceptional expertise and unwavering dedication, and is most deserving of this award.” McCaffrey assumed the role of Calleguas General Manager in January 2024 after 20 years of working in various roles in the organization. Her focus is on implementing collaborative and ambitious approaches to improving water supply reliability in Ventura County. Throughout her career, McCaffrey has secured more than $37 million in state and federal grant funding for Calleguas projects and has led numerous successful countywide grant pursuit efforts resulting in tens of millions of dollars of additional funding for agencies and non-profits working in Ventura County water and land stewardship. “I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from my peers,” said McCaffrey. “I can think of no more interesting and rewarding field to work in than water and no better place to work in water than Ventura County. I look forward to continuing to serve my community with creative and collaborative leadership as we address the water challenges ahead.” AWA’s mission since 1976 is to foster cooperation among entities for the development, protection, conservation and improvement of Ventura County’s water resources. Its board of directors is composed of representatives from multiple Ventura County sectors, including agriculture, municipalities, water suppliers and industrial users. Calleguas provides water to three quarters of Ventura County’s population (approximately 640,000 people) through 19 retail water agencies, including the cities of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Camarillo, Oxnard, and Port Hueneme, and surrounding unincorporated areas including Oak Park, Santa Rosa Valley, Las Posas Valley, Somis, and Naval Base Ventura County.
