Erich Peterson, the new general manager of The Woodlands Water Agency following the retirement of James Stinson, said he hopes to continue Stinson's work overseeing The Woodlands' water management needs.
“Woodlands Water counts on strong community partnerships," Peterson said in an interview. "Much of the credit goes to Jim Stinson and his diligence, fiscal responsibility, community relationships and the excellent management of the WWA. As we meet the challenges of a new phase for our water infrastructure, I will strive to continue the excellence Jim provided over the last 29 years."
Peterson has more than 22 years of private engineering consulting, managing water districts and helping solve complex water, wastewater and drainage issues across Texas.
The following interview has been edited for length.
Were you familiar with The Woodlands prior to applying for this position?
[I was] very familiar with The Woodlands, I lived here for more than 14 years until 2019. After college and working briefly in Houston, I moved to The Woodlands area in 2004. I’m still a resident of Montgomery County.
What is different in the management of The Woodlands Water from your previous roles?
As a private engineering consultant, we focused mainly on engineering and the operations and aspects of the water business. In most districts, a district would hire a consultant to do engineering operations of billing, bookkeeping, legal tax assessment and financial. At WWA, we handle all of those areas in-house except legal and financial adviser duties, which are contracted out for the MUDs. For projects that need engineering design, we work with engineering firms.
What do you expect will be the greatest challenge managing WWA?
Our greatest challenge will be further strengthening the water infrastructure of The Woodlands. As you know, The Woodlands is turning 50 years old next year. Much of our water system is 50 years old or will be soon enough. Like the plumbing in our homes, it must be upgraded or replaced as it wears out. The Woodlands is no different. We’ve provided superior-rated water and top-notch wastewater and drainage systems for 50 years. We’re committed to keeping it that way.
What do you see as the greatest needs for water management in The Woodlands area?
Some areas of The Woodlands will need water line replacement, wastewater line replacement—mostly in the original villages of The Woodlands. Our oldest wastewater treatment plant is at the end of its useful life as well. When water distribution lines and wastewater collection lines age, they can become weak. This can lead to breaks causing major water loss, or wastewater line breaks that could lead to sinkholes and cave-ins. Each of these scenarios causes service outages, and they are very costly. Residents of The Woodlands area rightly expect a high level of service for their water and wastewater systems. The infrastructure renewal will address this, help prevent those costly unplanned breaks and outages, and provide another 50 to 70 years of reliable water and wastewater utilities.
What do you see as the role of The Woodlands Water Agency in ongoing discussion on topics such as subsidence and drainage/flood prevention?
WWA continues to be a community partner in evaluating subsidence. Subsidence is a regional issue that cannot be solved by one entity or water provider. The evidence I’ve seen shows that there is a correlation between groundwater pumpage and subsidence. Drainage and flooding is such a multivariable phenomenon, with factors such as rainfall intensity, duration, ground saturation and location of when and where it falls. Subsidence can also be a variable contributing to flooding. We can easily see this happening along coastal areas. The full impact to our more inland area is still being evaluated. WWA will continue to partner with regional and state agencies to monitor and address subsidence as more data is available.
