A Champion
of Water
Conservation
As for the current chapter in Dennis
Kennedy’s career, it’s all about WATER.
Kennedy was appointed to the Board of
Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water
District (SCVWD) in 2013. The following
year he was re-elected to serve until 2018,
and he was named Vice Chair of the Board
in 2015. The Water District manages water
supply, flood protection and environmental
stewardship for the county, which spans
1,300 square miles and supports 15 cities,
nearly 1.8 million residents, and more than
200,000 commuters to Silicon Valley.
As SCVWD Director for District 1,
Kennedy focuses on Morgan Hill, Gilroy
and San Martin; the Evergreen and Silver
Creek neighborhoods of San Jose; parts of
south San Jose; and the hills east of San Jose
and Milpitas. It’s a big territory with big
challenges to solve.
Despite winter rains, the Northern Sierra
snowpack and local reservoirs remain at
below-average levels. The drought is dragging
on, and even with above-average rainfall this
winter and spring, it will take time to recover.
Kennedy is a tireless advocate of water
conservation, taking every opportunity to
educate the community about challenges
that run the gamut from drought response to
flood control.
According to water district CEO, Beau
Goldie, Director Kennedy understands the
issues of his district:
• He engages with state and federal
partners and protects our interests in
water from the Sierras.
• As Morgan Hill’s former mayor
he understands the local community’s
perspective. He is working to make sure
we deliver on major projects for the
South County, from the Anderson
Dam Seismic Retrofit to Flood Control
at Upper Llagas Creek.
• He is a champion for agriculture,
working to keep ag water rates low and
preserve open space lands.
• He is also a champion of water
recycling, having been intimately
involved with the South County
Regional WasteWater Authority.
Along with his leadership role on the
water distr ict board, Kennedy continues
to provide consulting services in facilities
and site planning, project entitlement,
engineering and construction project approval
and development to clients throughout the
state of California.
A Community-
Minded Man
Kennedy also served as a member of the
Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce
ABOVE: Dennis Kennedy and other members of the Morgan Hill Sister Cities
Delegation meet with the Mayor of Seferihisar, Turkey, to present him with the key to
the City of Morgan Hill. (Holding the key is delegate Bernie Mulligan of Morgan Hill.)
TOP RIGHT: Dennis Kennedy and the mayor of Morgan Hill’s first Sister City, San
Cansciano, Italy, at an historic city landmark.
RIGHT: Dennis Kennedy receives a gift from the mayor of Morgan Hill’s Sister City in
Mizuho, Japan.
G M H T O D A Y M A G A Z I N E
MARCH / APRIL 2015
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