The Contra Costa Water District has appointed Steve Welch as the new General Manager. Welch is a Martinez native with over 30 years of experience in the water industry.
“CCWD has a strong workforce in place and the Board is confident that Steve will lead the team to many future successes,” said Board President Lisa M. Borba following the Board’s decision. “Steve’s experience, knowledge, and drive reflect priorities that the Board has set for serving our customers and making wise investments for the future.”
Currently, Welch oversees Engineering, Planning, Watershed & Lands and Operations & Maintenance. In this role, he leads approximately two-thirds of the employees at the District. Welch will assume his new role on December 2, 2019.
When asked, Welch stated, “I am honored to be selected for this position and feel privileged to lead a team of professionals that are top-notch in our industry.” With over 20 years of experience working at CCWD, he added, “I look forward to continuing to serve our community by bringing my vision to advance our agency as a dependable provider to customers, trusted regional partner and reliable resource in state and federal arenas.”
Throughout his career, Welch’s experience has focused on design, construction, operations and maintenance, and organizational management. Welch has a Bachelor and Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley, and is a California registered Civil and Structural Engineer. He started work at CCWD as a Principal Engineer in 1997, became the Director of Engineering in 2001, and was promoted to his current position in 2007. Prior to CCWD, Welch worked at East Bay Municipal Utility District and in the private sector.