Environmentalist appointed to new Suffolk County Water Authority post

Carrie Meek Gallagher, the head of Suffolk County’s Department of Environment and Energy, will be taking a job as the Suffolk County Water Authority’s chief sustainability officer, a newly formed position.

The SCWA board voted unanimously to approved Ms. Gallagher for the position. She served as a county commissioner for four years.

Jeff Szabo, the authority’s chief executive officer, said the new position was created in order to focus on environmental protection initiatives, including water conservation, the use of renewable energies, recycling and waste reduction.
“Carrie is the perfect person to help us realize these goals,” he said.

The responsibilities for the new chief sustainability officer include: monitoring potential environmental threats to over 560 active wells; developing the authority’s infrastructure; implementing the authority’s land management program; furthering the authority’s energy optimization efforts; and developing detailed plans for future land easements, officials said.

“I look forward to focusing on the big-picture issues that will impact the Suffolk County Water Authority’s future, and by extension the future of all Suffolk residents,” she said.

Officials at the Suffolk County Water Authority, which is not a county agency but a state public benefit corporation, said Ms. Gallagher would start in January.