OCWD Welcomes Newly Re-Elected Director Kelly Rowe

Newly re-elected Orange County Water District (OCWD, the District) Director Kelly Rowe, CFM, PG, CEG, CH, was sworn into office Friday, December 7. After an 18-year hiatus, Director Rowe was re-elected on November 6 to the 10-member OCWD board to represent Division 7, which includes Costa Mesa and part of Fountain Valley, Irvine, Newport Beach, and Tustin.

“I am honored to return to serve the constituents of Division 7 and to be a part of an organization that is recognized as a global leader in groundwater management and water reuse,” said Rowe. “Since 1933, OCWD has helped bring water reliability to the region. I look forward to return to work with staff and my fellow directors to implement our projects that continue this important legacy,” he added.

“On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to welcome Kelly back to the board,” said OCWD Board President Denis Bilodeau. “Kelly previously served on the board from 1998-2000 and worked as a project manager for OCWD from 1996-1998 to develop and oversee the first major repairs to OCWD’s important seawater intrusion barrier injection wells. His prior knowledge and experience will serve him well as we work together to provide a reliable water supply to more than 2.5 million people in north and central Orange County.”

Director Rowe is a water resources technical professional with more than 40 years of experience, specializing in the design, construction and management of groundwater wells and basin operational facilities. He is a California-licensed Professional Geologist, Certified Engineering Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist and is an Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Certified Floodplain Manager.

Since 1977, he has worked for several large engineering and environmental consulting firms in Southern California. In 1996, he started a consulting company, Kelly E. Rowe & Associates, that specializes in water resources and environmental management programs and projects. Over the last 18 years Director Rowe worked mainly as a contracted consultant-appointed federal official for the federal government, to develop and resolve grants for water resources facilities overseas for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and for seven states through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to restore public infrastructure damaged by 16 federally-declared major disasters. This involved working with many operational and environmental federal, state, regional, and local government officials.

Director Rowe has a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from San Diego State University, with additional geology graduate studies. He is the founder and president of American Water Resources Association, Southern California Section. He was a long-term member of the American Geophysical Union and Association of Engineering Geologists. He is a continuing member of the American Water Resources Association and the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Director Rowe’s first official board meeting was December 19.