Martin L. Adams
General Manager and Chief Engineer
Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power

Martin Adams took over the leadership role in 2019 of the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power, which oversees the city’s water and power systems and is the nation’s largest publicly-owned utility, after three years as Chief Operating Officer. He leads an organization of more than 11,000 employees delivering water and power to the 4 million city residents of Los Angeles.

Martin has more than 38 years of agency experience with the agency, starting in 1984 as an entry level engineer. During his career, he worked throughout the Water System and was directly involved with planning and implementing major changes to storage, conveyance and treatment facilities to meet new water quality regulations. Martin has spent almost half of his career in system operations, including ten years as Director of Water Operations in charge of day-to-day operation and maintenance and management of city water delivery system, including the Los Angeles Aqueduct and other supply sources, pump stations, reservoirs, water treatment facilities and system properties.

Martin is a native of the greater Los Angeles area and lives with his family in Burbank, where he served for nine years on that city’s water and power board. He received his B.S. degree in civil engineering from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.