FEMA and San Antonio River Authority Officials Visit Chennai
A two-member delegation traveling under the Ambassador’s Water Expert Program (AWEP), an initiative of the United States Departments of State and Interior, visited Chennai at the invitation of the United States Consulate General from January 2-13 to engage and collaborate with experts, policy makers, and educational institutions on water resource challenges, disaster management, and climate change.
Steven Metzler, Director of Water Resources, San Antonio River Authority (SARA), and Julia McCarthy, Deputy Director of the Mitigation Division, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 5, visited Anna University’s Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Management, joined a fireside chat at the Future Cities Summit during the Shaastra Tech Fest at the Indian Institute of Technology (Madras), met industry stakeholders with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), took a storytelling tour along the Adyar River, and offered expertise on a panel discussion at Umagine 2025 on “Innovative Solutions to Combat Climate Change: A Global Perspective.”
The delegation also held discussions with Chennai Mayor R. Priya; Dr. K. Manivasan, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary to Government, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department; Dr. D. Karthikeyan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department; and J. Kumaragurubaran, IAS, Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation.
Steven Metzler, Director of Water Resources, San Antonio River Authority (SARA), said, “My Indian counterparts and I have become colleagues and friends. It is especially fitting to be in Chennai, the sister city of my home, San Antonio, to share my experience and expertise in water resources engineering. The rivers that run through Chennai and its sister city—my home, San Antonio–play a key role in the history, the present, and the future of each of these vibrant and dynamic cities and present both opportunities to seize and challenges to tackle. This project is a unique way we can work on this together”
Julia McCarthy, Deputy Director, Mitigation Division, FEMA Region 5, said, “I am privileged to share my experience in flood risk identification, management and mitigation through the Ambassador’s Water Experts Program. Flood protection and disaster management are critical to the resilience of the city and its residents. While there are challenges, there are also opportunities and potential solutions to improve the situation which we are exploring with the state and city during our visit.”
U.S. Consul General in Chennai Chris Hodges said, “The United States supports the Government of Tamil Nadu’s ongoing efforts at river remediation, effective sewage management, flood mitigation, and disaster resilience as a partner and a friend. Thanks to our AWEP experts, the U.S. Consulate General Chennai now has a scalable roadmap for continued partnership with Tamil Nadu through U.S. technological expertise, business partnership and best practices. This program also opens opportunities to strengthen the ongoing Sister City partnership between San Antonio in Texas and Chennai, which may serve as a model for other cities in our consular district and throughout India.”