Reno water agency chief resigns post

RENO -- The general manager of the publicly owned Truckee Meadows Water Authority has submitted her resignation after a vote by directors to consider leasing the area's water system to private investors.

Lori Williams, authority general manager since 2002, said she would leave her $180,000-a-year post in September.

Williams on Wednesday said her decision was based in part on a possible "change in direction" at the utility.

"It has to do with the vision of TMWA changing," Williams said. "It became obvious to me we were willing to go in a different direction, and that isn't where my heart and soul are."

The authority was created in 2001 when Reno, Sparks and Washoe County paid Sierra Pacific Resources $350 million for the system that serves 93,000 homes and businesses.

Officials at the time said they wanted to acquire the water system to ensure a crucial natural resource remained under local control.

The possibility of leasing the water system and other utility assets was proposed by the Goldman Sachs investment firm, which was involved in the 2001 purchase, Reno Finance Director Andy Green said.

Green said there is mounting interest from pension funds in "essential assets" such as water systems.