Senior Hydrologist Brian Lockwood To Fill Position Bannister’s Retirement
Lockwood, who started with PV Water in 2005, succeeds retiring General Manager Mary Bannister. Bannister, a certified engineering geologist, was with PV Water for 17 years.
“Given his considerable knowledge, and experience gained working for us over the last 11 years, including in a leadership role as senior water resources hydrologist, the Board of Directors is confident in its choice to have Brian lead the agency,” Board Chair Rosemarie Imazio said.
Lockwood will serve a six-month term as interim general manager, after which the Board of Directors will consider making a permanent appointment.
Ongoing implementation of the Basin Management Plan (BMP) will be a significant project for Lockwood and PV Water over the next several years. Groundwater, the primary source of water in the Pajaro Valley, has been over-drafted from the aquifers beneath the valley during the past several decades. This has resulted in falling groundwater levels and seawater intrusion within the Basin’s aquifers, threatening the long-term viability of the Pajaro Valley’s groundwater supply.
The BMP was developed with the help of Pajaro Valley stakeholders to help ensure the future of local water resources and the agricultural economy. It includes three main components, comprised of seven programs and projects, to address groundwater over-pumping issues in the Pajaro Valley.
Lockwood, 40, has provided technical analysis, review and oversight for BMP programs for the past eight years. His work has included capital improvement projects, aquifer recharge, recycled water, groundwater quality, seawater intrusion, conjunctive use, hydrologic modeling, groundwater production, land use, water conservation, and funding and rate setting. He also has worked with PV Water staff and consultants to secure nearly $8 million in grant funds over the last five years to support basin management activities, and has overseen the installation of eight monitoring wells and three production wells.
Lockwood is serving on a Sustainable Groundwater Management Act advisory panel administered by the California Department of Water Resources, and is responsible for PV Water’s information technology and outreach programs.
Lockwood earned a Masters Degree in Earth Science at UC Santa Cruz, is a licensed professional geologist and certified hydrogeologist in the state of California.
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The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) is a state-chartered water management district formed to efficiently and economically manage existing and supplemental water supplies in order to prevent further increase in, and to accomplish continuing reduction of, long-term overdraft in the greater coastal Pajaro Valley. For more information, visit www.pvwater.org or www.facebook.com/Pajaro-Valley-Water-Management-Agency-239334919458182.