District Of Columbia 2025-2026 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR26-0174 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	MURIEL BOWSER
2	2	MAYOR
3	3	Ap
4	4	ril 9, 2025
5	5	The Honorable Phil Mendelson
6	6	Chairman
7	7	Council of
8	8	the District of Co lumbia
9	9	John A. Wilson Building
10	10	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
11	11	Washington, DC 20004
12	12	Dear Chairman Mende lson:
13	13	In accordance with section 2
14	14	of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
15	15	142; D.C. Official Code § 1-523.01), and pursuant
16	16	to section 204 of Title II of the Water and Sewer
17	17	Authority
18	18	Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, effective April
19	19	18,
20	20	1996 (D.C. Law 11-111; D.C. Official Code § 34- 2202.04), I am pleased to nominate the following
21	21	individual:
22	22	Dr. Alexander McP hail
23	23	17th
24	24	Street, NW
25	25	Washington, DC 20011
26	26	(Ward 4 )
27	27	for appointment
28	28	as an alternate District resident member of the Board of Director s of the District of
29	29	Columbia Water
30	30	and Sewer Authority , filling a vacant seat formerly held by Dr. Joe Leonard, for the
31	31	remainder of an unexpired term to end September 12, 2028.
32	32	Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
33	33	nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
34	34	I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
35	35	do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
36	36	Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
37	37	Sincerely,
38	38	Muriel Bowser
39	39	Mayor 1
40	40	2
41	41	3
42	42	4
43	43	5
44	44	6
45	45	7
46	46	8
47	47	9
48	48	10
49	49	11
50	50	12
51	51	13
52	52	14
53	53	15
54	54	16
55	55	17
56	56	18
57	57	19
58	58	20
59	59	21
60	60	22
61	61	23
62	62	24
63	63	25
64	64	26
65	65	27
66	66	28
67	67	29
68	68	30
69	69	31
70	70	32
71	71	33
72	72	34
73	73	35
74	74	36
75	75	at the request
76	76	of the Mayor
77	77	A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
78	78	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
79	79	To confirm the appointment
80	80	of Dr. Alexander McPhail to the Water and Sewer Authority Board
81	81	of Directors.
82	82	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
83	83	resolution may be cited as the "District
84	84	of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority Board of
85	85	Directors Dr. Alexander McPhail Confirmation Resolution of 2025".
86	86	Sec.
87	87	2. The Council of the District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
88	88	Dr. Alexander McPhail
89	89	17th Street,
90	90	NW
91	91	Washington, DC 20011
92	92	(Ward 4)
93	93	as an alternate District resident member
94	94	of the Board of Directors of the District of Columbia
95	95	Water and Sewer Authority, established by section 204
96	96	of Title II of the Water and Sewer
97	97	Authority Establishment and Department
98	98	of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, effective
99	99	April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-111; D.C. Official
100	100	Code§ 34-2202.04), filling a vacant seat
101	101	formerly held by Dr. Joe Leonard, for the remainder
102	102	of an unexpired term to end September 12,
103	103	2028.
104	104	Sec.
105	105	3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
106	106	upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office
107	107	of the Mayor.
108	108	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. Alexander A. McPhail
109	109
110	110
111	111
112	112
113	113	SYNOPSIS OF EXPEREINCE
114	114
115	115	Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
116	116	Thirty years at the World Bank as an expert in the water sector.
117	117	Six years as DC Water Board Member, representing Ward 4.
118	118	Five years as Board Member for the Water Research Foundation.
119	119
120	120	EDUCATION
121	121
122	122	Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University (1991).
123	123	M.A., Social Change & Development, Johns Hopkins University (1988).
124	124	B.S., Business Administration, Portland State University, Portland, OR
125	125	(1985).
126	126
127	127	PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
128	128
129	129	Independent Consultant. Washington, DC. Project Director for multi-year
130	130	technical assistance: ‘Long-Term Technical Assistance to the City of Cape
131	131	Town for the Financial Sustainability of Water and Sanitation Services.’
132	132	Technical assistance and advice on a broad variety of financial issues
133	133	including cost of service, financial modelling, tariff restructuring, and
134	134	CAPEX implementation. March 2021-August 2022.
135	135
136	136	Expert consultant for the World Bank Group on a large study for the
137	137	restoration of the rivers surrounding Dhaka, Bangladesh. Advice on the city’s
138	138	water strategy, governance structures, investment priority planning and the
139	139	review of technical reports by the implementing international consulting
140	140	firm. July 2021 – present.
141	141
142	142	The World Bank Group, Washington, DC. Lead Water & Sanitation
143	143	Specialist (retired). Thirty years of experience preparing water sector
144	144	lending operations and analytical studies in the developing world. Areas of
145	145	expertise include infrastructure economics, public utility finance, public
146	146	utility management, institutional and legal frameworks, private sector
147	147	participation, irrigated agriculture, water resource planning and public
148	148	awareness and consultation strategies.
149	149	May 1988-February 2021. www.worldbank.org
150	150
151	151	Country Experience: Africa: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo,
152	152	Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Republic of Congo,
153	153	S. Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Latin America & Caribbean: Brazil. Middle
154	154	East & North Africa: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, West Bank Alexander McPhail Page 2
155	155	& Gaza, Yemen. Europe & Central Asia: Macedonia, Uzbekistan. Asia:
156	156	Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
157	157
158	158	Water Research Foundation, Denver, Colorado. Board Member, Public
159	159	Council on Drinking Water Research. Member, Infrastructure Reliability
160	160	Workgroup. July 2005-June 2010. www.waterrf.org
161	161
162	162	District of Columbia Water & Sewer Authority (DC-Water),
163	163	Washington, DC. Board Member for the District of Columbia. Chair,
164	164	Customer and Community Service Committee. Member, Operations and
165	165	Environmental Quality Committee. July 2000-October 2006.
166	166	www.dcwater.com
167	167
168	168	Direct Service Industries, Inc., Portland, OR. Tariff Economist for energy
169	169	intensive industries during the initial implementation of Columbia River
170	170	Basin planning under federal legislation. Assisted with the conception and
171	171	execution of rate hearing strategies before state and federal regulators to
172	172	reduce the cost of electricity purchased by the aluminum industry from
173	173	federal marketing agencies. Also involved work on watershed planning and
174	174	interactions with NGOs. September 1982-August 1985.
175	175
176	176	LANGUAGES
177	177
178	178	English (native); French (S-AM, R-G, W-F); Italian (S-A, R-G, W-F)
179	179
180	180
181	181	PUBLICATIONS
182	182
183	183	“Achieving Financial Sustainability and Recovering Costs in Bank Financed
184	184	Water Supply and Sanitation and Irrigation Projects”, co-authored with
185	185	Locussol, A., and Perry. C. World Bank Working Paper No 17226. June
186	186	2012.
187	187
188	188	“Why Don’t Households Connect to the Piped Water System: Observations
189	189	from Tunis, Tunisia”, Land Economics, Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 189-196. May
190	190	1994.
191	191
192	192	“Overlooked Market for Water Connections in Rabat’s Shantytowns”,
193	193	Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Vol. 119, No. 3, pp.
194	194	388-405. May/June 1993.
195	195
196	196	“The ‘Five Percent Rule” for Improved Water Service: Can Households
197	197	Afford More?”, World Development, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 963-973. March
198	198	1993.
199	199
200	200	“Giving Respondents Time to Think in Contingent Valuation Studies: A
201	201	Developing Country Application”, co-authored with Whittington, D., Smith, Alexander McPhail Page 3
202	202	et al., Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Vol. 22, No. 3,
203	203	pp. 205-225. May 1992.
204	204
205	205	“Tunis and Rabat Water Demand Study”, Ph.D. Thesis, Whiting School of
206	206	Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. January 1992.
207	207
208	208	“Strategy for Cost Recovery in the Rural Water Sector”, co-authored with
209	209	Whittington, D., et al., Water Resources Research, Vol. 16, No. 9, pp. 1899-
210	210	1913. September 1990.
211	211
212	212	“Cost Recovery for Rural Water Delivery in Nigeria”, co-authored with
213	213	Whittington, D., et al., Working Paper No. 369, Infrastructure and Urban
214	214	Department, The World Bank, Washington, DC. March 1990.
215	215
216	216
217	217	PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
218	218
219	219	American Water Works Association 1997-Present
220	220	Asset Management Committee 2022-Present
221	221
222	222
223	223	NON-PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS
224	224
225	225	Competitive Sailboat Racing
226	226	Finance Committee Member, Severn Sailing Association
227	227	Landscaping & Gardening
228	228	Cooking
229	229	Reading
230	230	Executive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
231	231	John A. Wilson Building \| 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 \| Washington, DC 20004
232	232
233	233
234	234
235	235
236	236	Dr. Alexander McPhail
237	237
238	238	Dr. Alexander McPhail has more than 35 years of professional
239	239	experience, with 33 years with the World Bank. After retiring from the
240	240	World Bank in 2021, he has been an independent consultant for the water
241	241	sector.
242	242	At the World Bank, Dr. McPhail specialized in all aspects of the water
243	243	sector including water supply and sanitation, resources planning and
244	244	conservation, utility management, financing strategies, wiliness to pay,
245	245	policy development and stakeholder consultation. Over the last decade of
246	246	work at the World Bank, he increasingly turned his attention to
247	247	developing climate resilient policies and projects, and especially in the
248	248	Middle East and South Asia. Dr. McPhail is an experienced team leader,
249	249	having formed and led more than 20 multi-disciplinary teams during his World Bank career.
250	250	Overall, he was either a team leader or team member for more than 75 projects during his World
251	251	Bank career.
252	252	Dr. McPhail routinely interacts and negotiates with government officials, including Ministers,
253	253	Directors and technical staff. He also interacts frequently with the donor community, both
254	254	multilateral and bilateral. He is an experienced speaker and presenter at international conferences
255	255	and forums and has designed and drafted hundreds of presentations for a variety of audiences. He
256	256	is known and sought after for his ability to explain complex concepts and operations to audiences
257	257	in a simple and coherent manner.
258	258	Dr. McPhail also previously served, for 6 years, a member of the Board of Directors for the District
259	259	of Columbia Water & Sewer Authority. In this position he c haired the Customer S ervice
260	260	Committee and was a member of the Operations and Audit Committees. As a Board member, he
261	261	regularly helped develop the utility’s policies and procedures, ranging from strategic directions to
262	262	promoting procurement of minority and women owned contractors. He also helped to guide the
263	263	utility’s over $2 billion 10- year capital program. While on the Board, Dr. McPhail initiated a low-
264	264	income bill assistance fund and led a Board initiative to replace lead service lines.
265	265	A Ward 4 resident, Dr. McPhail earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from
266	266	Portland State University, and both his Bachelor of Arts in Social Change & Development and his
267	267	PhD in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
268	268	Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
269	269
270	270	Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
271	271
272	272
273	273	______________________________________________________________________________
274	274	The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
275	275
276	276	To: Tomas Talamante, Steve Walker
277	277	From: Betsy Cavendish
278	278	Date: March 27, 2025
279	279	Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolutions nominating Dr. Jimmy Ortiz, Laurence
280	280	Gill, Rob Hawkins, and Dr. Alexander McPhail as members of the Board of
281	281	Directors of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
282	282	This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above-referenced resolution and
283	283	found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
284	284	hesitate to call Erika Satterlee, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202-
285	285	724-1303, or me at 202-724-7681.
286	286
287	287
288	288	______________________________
289	289	Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Cavendish
290	290
291	291