Soquel Creek Water District General Manager Announces Retirement by Soquel Creek Water District Mar 12, 2024 Member Submitted News After an exceptional 20 years of dedicated service to Soquel Creek Water District, with nearly nine years as the agency’s General Manager, Ron Duncan announced his intention to retire this fall. Duncan’s last day will be on September 30. Soquel Creek Water District Board President Dr. Bruce Jaffe expressed gratitude for Duncan’s many contributions, to the District and its customers, stating, “Ron has been instrumental in shaping the District’s success, and we wish him a well-deserved retirement. His professionalism, leadership, and tremendous abilities have empowered the District, enabled us to meet the water supply challenges of today and the future, and brought us great respect within the water industry.” Duncan is a registered CA geologist with three masters degrees in hydrology, business administration, and positive leadership and strategy. Prior to the District, he worked at Woodward-Clyde Consultants and for the Santa Cruz Port District. Duncan first joined the District in 2003 as the Water Conservation Coordinator. He was then quickly promoted to the Conservation Manager and was pivotal in developing a robust and innovative water community conservation program that resulted in some of the lowest water use levels in the state. In February 2016, he was appointed as General Manager and under his leadership and with support from the Board, Duncan took on the challenge of addressing the critical overdraft conditions of the local mid-county groundwater basin. His efforts and leadership enabled the development of Pure Water Soquel, the District’s innovative water reuse project to provide a supplemental water supply, replenish the groundwater basin, and prevent seawater contamination of the sole source of water for the District’s customers. Through Duncan’s collaborative partnerships, deep technical knowledge, and a great deal of sheer perseverance, he has become a leader among local and state water providers and has garnered nearly $100 million of federal and state grant funding for Pure Water Soquel, which is currently under construction and anticipated to be operational later this year. He also serves on the American Water Works Association Water Utility Council and on the WateReuse California Board of Trustees. In his letter to the Board, announcing his impending retirement, Duncan expressed, “This has been my dream job. I believe the organization will continue on its journey of being an exceptional and distinguished agency as it implements Pure Water Soquel and broadens its efforts to help the entire Santa Cruz region.” About Soquel Creek Water District: The Soquel Creek Water District is a not-for-profit local government agency that provides water resource management within its service area to deliver a safe and reliable supply of high-quality water to meet present and future needs in an environmentally sensitive and economically responsible way.