The Bay Area’s largest public water utility is experiencing a “silver tsunami” as most of its most experienced directors retire this year.

Four of the seven board members of the East Bay Municipal Utility District, or EBMUD, have already retired or will do so by the end of the year. Each has served since at least 2001 and brings decades of experience preparing for droughts, managing rate increases and positioning the utility for climate change.

“I will go from being the youngest board member two years ago to being the oldest board member,” said EBMUD Director Marguerite Young, who was elected in 2014 and is one of the three remaining board members.

As the second largest water retailer in California, EBMUD serves 1.4 million residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and manages water reserves, rate increases, and drought contingency plans.

But as with many private companies and public institutions, the company’s top executives are giving up their positions to a new generation – a trend that many are calling the “silver tsunami,” said Erik Christian Porse, director of the California Institute for Water Resources.

“Many of the top people in the water sector have been in office for some time. And you see a generational gap as these people retire and those who take on new roles,” Porse said.

The first major board resignation occurred in April when John Coleman retired after more than 30 years on the EBMUD board.

“This is a bittersweet moment. Since my days as an Eagle Scout, I have been committed to serving my community,” Coleman said at the time. “As I look back on my 33-year career at EBMUD, I am enormously proud of what we have accomplished together: We have shaped important water policy and achieved increased cooperation among water agencies in this great state.”

Three other board members have announced they plan to retire after the 2024 election. They include Lesa McIntosh, who was first elected in 1999 to represent parts of Contra Costa County, Doug Linney, who has represented San Leandro and West Oakland since 2001, and William “Bill” Patterson, who joined the board in 1997 to represent East Oakland.

The board unanimously appointed Luz Gómez to replace Coleman. Gómez is running unopposed in a district that includes Walnut Creek, Danville and Lafayette. However, the remaining outgoing board members will have to wait for the results of the 2024 election to see who replaces them.

EBMUD’s outgoing leaders led the district through droughts that forced residents to reduce their water use by 10% by 2022. The incoming board will likely face similar challenges when it comes to drought, water resource management and balancing the organization’s budget. That’s not to say they’ll come to the board unprepared, Young said.

“We have had strategic plans in place for a long time. The outgoing directors were involved in developing those plans, so their institutional knowledge lives on and will continue to do so in the future,” Young said.

In addition to strategic plans for water resource management and investment projects to improve aging infrastructure, future board members will also rely on forecasts for the upcoming La Niña season, which is typically characterized by lower rainfall.

Porse offered his support for the new ideas and perspectives that arise from corporate restructuring, including the “opportunity to evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century.”