General Manager Out at Edwards Aquifer Authority
Photo by EAA
EAA general manager Karl Dreher was let go Tuesday evening.
After being placed on administrative leave last week, the general manager of the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), Karl Dreher, has now been let go, effective immediately.
The Authority manages the groundwater district of the Edwards Aquifer, which includes San Antonio and many of the surrounding counties, producing drinking water for more than 2 million people in Central Texas.
At a board meeting Tuesday, the EAA appointed Roland Ruiz to serve as interim general manager. The board said Ruiz will be in that position until they decide on a “permanent successor.”
Ruiz handles communications for the EAA, and has been with the authority since May 2006. “He will assume the responsibilities of the general manager on an interim basis effective immediately,” the EAA said in a release late Tuesday.
It still isn’t clear why Dreher was placed on administrative leave. He was appointed general manger of the Authority in early 2010. Previously he was a director of water resources for Idaho and consulted on groundwater disputes in the Republican River Basin.
Update: The San Antonio Express-News reports that the board voted 8 to 6 to terminate its contract with Dreher. The paper writes that Chairwoman Luana Buckner said that ““Karl actually did a very good job for our agency. But he lacked the management skills to reach the goals of the board.”