Water chief sees county as world leader

<p>Petaluman Randy Poole came to the Sonoma County Water Agency in the most natural way, it would seem.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>“I put myself through college working on a farm and worked up and down the West Coast on agricultural engineering projects,” he said. “I moved down from Portland and became the chief engineer at Marin Municipal Water District. From there, I became the chief engineer and general manager at Sonoma County Water Agency.”</p><p>Poole earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural engineering from Oregon State University in 1976. He is a registered civil engineer. </p><p>He moved to Petaluma in 1989 and is married, with six children.</p><p>As a member of the baby boomers, Poole calls his generation “the best-educated generation ever. However, we come with the highest demand for resources.” </p><p>Poole sees the biggest challenge to public agencies such as Sonoma County Water Agency as threefold. </p><p>“As we reach the end of our careers as managers or executives in many areas, we prepare to hand off the management of public resources to the next generations,” he said. “We have to deal with climate change and sagging supplies of water, and oil and at the same time, how do we create jobs for our kids to succeed?” </p><p>Poole said, “Sonoma County has an opportunity to do these things that no other region has. We can do this; we can cut carbon emissions, develop renewable energy, use electric cars, build biodiesel plants.”</p><p>“We can debate (it),” Poole said, but he believes that economic stimulus funds would be used better if they were in place for people to install low-flow shower heads, low-flush toilets and front-loading washing machines, and to help pay for additional roof insulation, as a few examples. </p><p>Poole is convinced that “choosing the right things will help create jobs,” citing Sonoma County Water Agency’s hiring of 350 high school students through Job Corps to help cut brush, clear creeks and clean creekbeds this summer. </p><p>“We can step up the energy savings, too,” he said, noting that Sonoma County uses 100 kilowatts of electricity per day.</p><p>Poole confesses his frustration with the length of time it takes to get energy and water conservation into everyday usage by as many people as possible. “We need to move more quickly, so as to not leave the problems to future generations,” he said.</p><p>How does Poole see himself? “Complex, difficult to work with,” he said. </p><p>How does he resolve those thoughts with the need to create consensus, to achieve the high-reaching goals of conservation, job creation and dealing with climate change? </p><p>“That’s why I have a lot of people helping me,” he said, speaking of the 200 or so employees at the Sonoma County Water Agency. </p><p>Thinking globally and acting locally, Poole has installed low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads. His goal, “when I retire, is to build a ‘green’ home in Big Fork, Mont., with rammed earth and straw, solar panels — the works.”</p><p>What he would change if he could? Poole would like everyone to see Sonoma County as “a world leader in energy, economy and water conservation. Reinventing and making a world change; I really think we can do it. It takes patience as we streamline processes, but I have people attending the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen this year and I think it’s entirely possible to close the deal and bring it home,” he said.</p><p>(Contact Lynn Schnitzer at argus@arguscourier.com)</p>