gmhTODAY 01 gmhToday Mar Apr 2015 | Page 75

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 gmhtoday.com 75