2025 Annual Report

Theodore Juroe

Board Member, 1977-1992

“In my 16 years on the Board, I was continually impressed by several things. First and foremost, it was the employees. From the people in the office, to those in the field who maintained hydrants and serviced water mains, to those in customer service. It seemed every one of them would bend over backward to help a customer.

I came to know some of these employees, excellent people such as Dick Metzger and Ray Ottman. I had great respect for their knowledge, professionalism and dedication to the customer, as I did for Paul Bringewatt, an excellent executive director. For about eight years of my time on the Board, we had John Schantz as our chairman, an able and conscientious leader who provided steady guidance as we made our decisions.

When I’d go to water authority conferences, I realized we in Rochester and Monroe County were unique in that we could provide water to a metro area of our size with two separate providers, MCWA and the City of Rochester. Today the Authority has expanded to serve six counties in addition to Monroe.

Another impressive aspect was how well the MCWA and the City of Rochester worked together to provide water to the area efficiently and at a reasonable cost. Given the geography and the costs of pumping, it made sense to find ways to exchange supply sources in certain situations. For example, it was more economical for the City to use Lake Ontario water from the MCWA Shoremont and Webster treatment plants, while the City could provide water from its upland sources of Hemlock and Canadice Lakes to some MCWA customers. We’d then settle up at the end of the year. Great cooperation made it all work.”

Thomas Mooney

Board Member, 1985-2002

“I served for 28 years as president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, but prior to that I spent a good deal of time in local government, first in the City of Rochester and then with Gordon Howe, who was the first Monroe County executive. That experience gave me a chance to see how things really worked locally on many fronts.

I concluded that the Monroe County Water Authority was one of the best-run governmental operations in New York State. I say that because it had a mission to expand its operation to service more than just Monroe County, and it brought talented people on board who were definitely qualified to accomplish that goal.

Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, water was being provided to 19 towns and 10 villages in the county as well as the City of Rochester. And many of these county municipalities were operating their own systems. Gordon Howe’s view was, if you had at least a county-wide approach to supplying water, as these municipal systems began to require significant amounts of money, they might choose to turn them over to a larger entity. And that’s exactly what happened. As the municipalities faced increasing, large capital expenses of continuing their own systems, they began to turn to the MCWA — first the towns and villages, and in the past 20 to 25 years, other counties. The Water Authority had a capacity to borrow, and it had a mission to expand. In my view, it has done exactly what its mission called for: safely delivering a needed product at an affordable price across an appropriately large geographic area.”

Ruth Scott

Board Member, 1991-1996

“In my years on the Board, the administration was actively pushing the idea of expansion and working with the City of Rochester to achieve it. The idea was that a cooperative approach would be the best way to provide excellent service and pure water at an affordable price to customers within and beyond our footprint at the time. Over the years, this definitely turned out to be the case.

As board members, we often had an inside look at the meticulous way various operations were handled at the Authority. I remember being impressed at the amount of scientific experimentation and testing of the Lake Ontario water to be assured that it was safe and had a good taste.  

Each year, we’d also visit a number of the installations where water was stored for emergency or backup use. We saw the care taken with these storage areas, from resurfacing the inside of storage tanks to extensive testing.

After my time on the Board, I started a corporation that consulted with organizations to help them run their businesses efficiently and effectively. My experience at MCWA often provided a model in this work.

I also believe that every corporation needs to be a good citizen in its community, and I can say that was absolutely true of the Water Authority. They care about the people in this community — and that seemed to be true of everyone throughout the organization.”

Joseph Rulison

Board Member, 2005-2024

“I am proud to have been part of a board that carried forward the MCWA tradition of planning far in advance. The completion of the Webster Water Treatment Plant (2013) was the culmination of an effort more than 40 years in planning, and one that included the guidance of a number of boards. Today, I simply I cannot overstate its importance for the future of our community.

I say that because the natural resource of water we have right in our backyard will be a huge economic driver — even 50 or 100 years from now. Water is critical for food manufacturing, for chip making, and for so many other businesses. 

Many other areas of our country face severe shortages of water. Yet there is no way to simply transport it to other regions which means manufacturers will have to come to our community for it.  

All of this is testament to the combination of community- and business-minded people who recognized this special opportunity and planned the best way to access this critical resource. And part of the legacy is the approach taken to well-planned growth and expansion as we evolved from a community water authority to a regional water authority, one now serving multiple counties beyond Monroe. I frequently travel around the country, and I can say the MCWA is nationally recognized for its high standards. Recently, I mentioned to someone my affiliation with the Monroe County Water Authority, and the response was ‘THE Monroe County Water Authority?’ That is the kind of sterling reputation the Authority has built.”

Robert Hurlbut

Board Member, 2011-2022

“Until my time on the Board, I never realized what an incredible, complicated task it is to get pure water into peoples’ homes – the amount of infrastructure and operations involved, as well as all the rules and regulations that must be followed.  I’m in the nursing home business, and the only business more regulated than mine is nuclear power. So, I understand the complexity of operating under regulations.

And yet, the people at the Water Authority were able to do this and almost make it look easy. MCWA is a quasi-government agency, and I’ve dealt with many government agencies. The work and professionalism of the Water Authority was unbelievable, from the administration and staff to the employees who go into the field.

Of course, having a resource of available, fresh water is critical to our local economy because so many businesses depend on it. And the MCWA’s ability to deliver it at an economical cost is remarkable. Also, during my time on the Board and in more recent years, the Authority received quite a few awards for customer satisfaction. 

I can say the MCWA Board was one of the most enjoyable on which I’ve ever served because of what I learned. I mean, what happens when you turn a tap on?  Nobody thinks about that…nobody! But I do now, and I have great appreciation for the dedicated people who make it happen.”