John Rossi, General Manager at Western Municipal Water District, announces his year-end retirement

Following a distinguished water career of more than 30 years, John Rossi, general manager at Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) in Riverside, has announced his retirement in late December 2017. The veteran water manager has been employed at WMWD for the past 13 years.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve Western’s customers with the support of the Board of Directors and the incredible team at Western,” shared Rossi. “Together we have accomplished greatness and it is with great enthusiasm that I move forward into retirement to spend more time with my family.”

With Rossi at the helm, Western Municipal was instrumental in bringing several key local water supply projects to fruition including:

• La Sierra Pipeline Expansion Project – A $36 million capital improvement project to provide safe and reliable water for the region.
• Riverside Water Purchase – A collaboration between Western and the city of Riverside to negotiate a local long-term agreement for water in order to keep rates as low as possible for WMWD’s customers as well as provide revenue stability for city of Riverside/Riverside Public Utility customers.
• Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority Treatment Plant Expansion – A multi-year expansion project using cutting-edge technology to minimize odors while increasing the intake capacity of the facility to continue local water supply reliability now and in the future.
• Water Budget Rates – Moving to a water budget rate model, tailoring each customer’s water use to ensure WMWD customers only pay for the water they used.
• Water Efficiency Programs – Becoming a regional and industry leader through innovative programs to help all customers use water wisely, including landscape evaluations, turf removal and FreeSprinklerNozzles.

Rossi received the praise of WMWD’s board president when he announced his retirement. “John has successfully guided Western through a period of huge growth and significant change,” said Western’s Board President Thomas P. Evans. “We appreciate his service to Western and our customers and wish him the best of luck in retirement.”

Rossi has also been recognized by the Association of California Water Agencies with the Excellence in Water Leadership Award for his long history of governance in the water industry, problem-solving and contributing to California water policy. WMWD was selected as an Inland Empire “Top Workplace” in 2016 by The Press-Enterprise which Rossi described as a, “true testament to our commitment to fostering an environment for our employees where mutual respect is paramount and employee support and development are fundamental to our core culture.”

Rossi currently serves on the boards of various entities, including president on the California Municipal Utilities Association Board of Governors, the California Baptist University Board of Visitors, and as a member of the Association of California Water Agencies Water Management Committee.

Prior to joining Western, Rossi served as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Rancho California Water District in Temecula and on the board of the Association of California Water Agencies, the Chino Basin Watermaster and as second vice-president for the WateReuse Association. He also served as a founding board member and president of the California Utility Executives Management Association.

Rossi’s previous employment prior to his position at WMWD included serving as the chief executive officer of the Chino Basin Watermaster and the general manager of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.