Water District Gets New Manager

The Eastern Municipal Water District has a new General Manager.

Paul D. Jones II is coming from the Irvine Water District where he served as General Manager for the past 12 years, Eastern Municipal announced on June 20.

This announcement came on the heels of the decision of current general manager Anthony J. Pack to retire after serving as GM since September 2001.

Pack accomplished many great things during his tenure, said Peter Odencrans, a spokesperson for the district.

In addition to earning Eastern Municipal the honor of being the first public utility to receive the silver-level California Award for Performance Excellence in 2005, Pack successfully managed the fastest growth spurt in the history of district during the massive housing boom.

During that period, the district was handling roughly 19,000 new sewer connections and 14,000 new water connections in a year, Odencrans said in an emailed statement.

His successor has a an impressive history as well, including a successful run as GM of Central and West Basin Municipal Water Districts in Carson. Similar to Eastern Municipal, both the Irvine- and Carson-based water districts where Jones worked are known for the operation of successful tertiary treated recycled water programs, Odencrans said.

 The water district embarked on a nationwide search for someone who could build on what Tony Pack and the district were able to accomplish, said representative and director Randy Record.

“Paul Jones will be able to ramp up quickly because of his broad knowledge of water and wastewater and his numerous contacts within the many agencies of Southern California,” Record said.