Glenn S. Gerstell today announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA). In a letter to Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Mr. Gerstell said, “It has been my pleasure to serve the people of the District of Columbia and the region as Chairman of the DC Water and Sewer Authority for the past six years. As you end your term as Mayor, it seems an appropriate time for me to step down from my position.”

Mayor Williams said, “I was sorry to learn that Glenn had resigned from the WASA board, but I certainly understand his desire to take a break after six years of excellent service. I think every District resident owes Glenn a debt for his productive term on the board, a period in which WASA continued to make excellent strides forward in terms of modernization, water quality and customer service.” Mayor Williams added, “There is no shortage of challenges facing WASA, but I am confident that the current board has placed the multi-jurisdiction agency on the right path heading forward.”

“I understand that Glenn is stepping down as Chairman even though his term runs through 2008,” Mayor-elect Adrian Fenty said. “I applaud his work in helping to restore public confidence in the Authority, but I also appreciate that six years is a long time for a demanding volunteer position. I thank Glenn for his service to the District of Columbia, and I look forward to continuing to call on him to make our community a better place to live and work.”

WASA recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Mr. Gerstell, the managing partner of the Washington office of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, a Wall Street law firm, was first sworn into office on January 4, 2001 and has served as Chairman for more than half of the Authority’s existence. He and his fellow board members have helped guide WASA to increased and improved customer service, a focus on environmental issues, and an “AA” bond rating indicating the excellent financial health of the agency.

During Mr. Gerstell’s tenure as Board Chairman, WASA greatly enhanced customer service with a state-of-the-art customer information system; initiated a comprehensive, multi-billion dollar program to replace aging infrastructure, including the largest lead service pipe replacement program ever undertaken in the country; revamped the antiquated quarterly billing system to give customers easy-to-understand monthly bills that can be paid by credit card, introduced automated meter reading; reduced combined sewer overflows by 30 percent; and placed the Authority on a strong financial course.

“We have been fortunate in our policy leadership to have a man of Glenn Gerstell’s vision, character, and integrity,” said Jerry N. Johnson, WASA’s General Manager.
“Glenn has provided the Board and the staff with enlightened guidance as we worked together to provide clean and safe drinking water and environmentally sensitive waste water management to the people and businesses in our community. The Authority will miss him,” Mr. Johnson added.

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