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Water industry veteran Satoru “Sat” Tamaribuchi on Tuesday began representing the Municipal Water District of Orange County on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Tamaribuchi, who took his seat virtually, replaces Director Brett Barbre, who represented MWDOC on Metropolitan’s board since 2009. Barbre departed from the MWDOC and Metropolitan boards in June after accepting a position as general manager of the Yorba Linda Water District.
Tamaribuchi will serve on the board’s Finance and Insurance, Legal and Claims, and Organization, Personnel and Technology committees.
Tamaribuchi was elected to the MWDOC Board of Directors in 2014, representing Newport Beach, Laguna Woods, portions of Irvine, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, and portions of Mission Viejo.
His extensive career in water began as a San Jose State student engineer for the California Department of Water Resources. He then served as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officer for over three years before returning to DWR to work as an engineer on water quality projects in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the San Francisco Bay. At the same time, he continued serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve for 27 years, during which he gained experience in various Navy public works and construction management positions before retiring as a captain in 1996.
After moving to Orange County in 1973, Tamaribuchi began working with the Irvine Company on environmental, water supply and water quality issues throughout the region, including leading a long-term project to control sedimentation in Upper Newport Bay. He also assisted the Irvine Ranch Water District in preparing and implementing water resources master plans.
