Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) announced Jan. 26 its board of commissioners approved chief executive officer Graham W. Rich’s retirement, effective April 25.
Chief operating officer Joel Jones will take his place. Jones has nearly 30 years of experience working with Upstate wastewater utilities.
“As a board, we are grateful for the six years Graham Rich served as CEO,” said ReWa board of commissioners chair John T. Crawford Jr. in an email to ReWa employees. “His steady hand has resulted in an unparalleled progress that will most certainly go down in the history books.”
Rich has more than 30 years of experience in water and wastewater industries and environmental engineering, including his time as ReWa’s CEO.
In this role, Rich led the development of projects such as Dig Greenville, a tunnel 100 feet below ground, more than a mile long and 11 feet wide.
According to a press release from ReWa, Rich also helped to lead efforts to establish programs to address the impact of wet weather on an aging networking of pipes and worked to see improvements for Upstate wastewater collection agencies through policy initiatives.
In addition, he supported Greenville County Council’s move to consolidate a variety of smaller wastewater collectors into MetroConnects.
Rich is a graduate of Clemson University and is a registered professional engineer. He is also a board-certified environmental engineer from the American Society of Environmental Engineers.
