Scott Mitchell was brought on as the water system Manager/Operator in the fall of 2005 . The following summer, Scott Hemingway succeeded him as the Field Operations Manager. The Board has also relied continuously on a number of consultants: Richard Jonson has provided excellent legal counsel to the Association and Board for many years. There has also been several professional engineers, including John Hastig of Gray & Osborne, Warren Perkins, Dick Heintz, the original engineer for much of the early stages of the Association, a hydrogeologist, Robert Pancoast, who worked on numerous groundwater and water rights related issues, and various economic consultants on an as-needed basis.

The consulting engineering firm of Gray & Osborne identified a number of capital improvement projects that were planned through the Comprehensive Water System Plan and implemented, including addition of two new storage tanks. These improvements helped the Association to comply with building and safety codes, as well as to meet state requirements for water flows to fight fires. The Association initiated additional telemetry projects for gathering real time information on the performance of the system’s wells, and also the computerization and automation of office systems.

In 2008, Scott Hemingway was promoted to be the Association’s first General Manager.  Jeremy Reier was hired in March of that year as Field Operations Manager. The Association began planning an emergency intertie with the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, which was completed in 2009.  Also in 2009, the Board began looking into the feasibility of moving the Association’s office from the rental space on Fall City Water District property to a building that would be constructed and owned by the Association.

In 2010, the Association began installing “radio-read” meters to replace the old manual reading meters. The radio read meters allow faster, more efficient and more accurate monthly meter data collection. The replacement effort was completed by 2013. What once took several days with two staff members to “read meters” is now easily accomplished by one staff member in the morning of a single day with improved accuracy.

Kristina Myers began as the new Business Manager early in 2012, and a few months later, Bob Pancoast became the new Water System Manager.  The Vista Well/Booster project, which was the largest project ever undertaken to date by the Association, was completed in 2013. This project was a key component in modernizing the system and improved water pressure in several areas.

A resource for the Ames Lake community

Final planning and permitting for the current office and operations building came more into focus in 2015. By constructing its own building within the service area, the Association desired to improve business and field operations, reduce emergency repair times, improve the Association’s ability to fully function in natural and man-made disasters, and be a resource for the Ames Lake community. The building is located at 27905 on NE 33rd Street and is adjacent to the original Vista wells, which have served the Association since its inception.