Government
BY VANESSA HOLT
Aubrey Spear takes over as general manager of San Jacinto River Authority Aubrey Spear assumed the role of general manager of the San Jacinto River Authority in January. Spear spoke with Community Impact on March 11 about the role of the SJRA and his plans for the coming year. What is your background, and how did it lead you to an interest in this position? I spent 36 years ... dealing with the water industry and water issues; the first 20 years I was in private business in engineering and business consulting to different entities. ... The last 16 and a half years I’ve been the director of water utili- ties for the city of Lubbock. ... Most everything that I see here at the SJRA is very similar to what I dealt with there, as far as the technology, treating water and wastewater. ... The organization of our water utility is very similar in size to the SJRA as well. What do you see as the main water issues in the area served by SJRA? Coming into this position, I am fully aware that ... all of our customers are wholesale customers; we don’t have retail customers, but those retail customers are important. ... They are the ones who use the water, ultimately. ... I think the biggest challenges are going to be building ... even more cooperation and consensus, and finding water solutions for a growing population here in this area, and that everybody be on the same page.
The San Jacinto River Authority:
Monitors water quality in the San Jacinto River Basin
Provides wholesale water to municipal utility districts and other entities
Operates the Lake Conroe Dam
Has divisions serving The Woodlands as well as the Highlands area around Lake Houston
SOURCE: SAN JACINTO RIVER AUTHORITY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
What are your immediate plans for your first year in this role? I’m just now getting my arms around a lot of the projects, ... and of course ... I ask a lot of questions about, ... “Why do we need this project?” ... “Is this the best timing for it?” ... Those that are definitely priorities that we need to move forward on, if they’re dealing with aging infrastructure that has a shelf life, we have to rehab certain facilities or we’re not going to be able to function. But if there are some that it doesn’t make sense this year to move forward, we’ll probably push those back. What goals do you have for the SJRA? I am here as a neutral party, in that I don’t have all of the political ties that a lot of people may have or perceived ties. I am here almost as a fresh set of eyes on everything to see what is it that we can do to work together, moving forward in the future. We are still in the middle of a lot of legal issues [with governmental entities]. My goal is to reach out to all the entities involved and try to chart a path forward.
What would you most like residents to know about the SJRA? I hope they all understand that water is our life, so they can live theirs. ... We’re trying to do the best we can; we want to build that trust that we’re working on water supply issues so they don’t have to worry about it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com.
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