SACO — The Maine Water Company announced Wednesday that Richard "Rick" Knowlton will become president, effective April 1. Knowlton succeeds Judy Wallingford, who announced her planned retirement as Maine Water's president last fall.
Wallingford has been with Maine Water since 1980, and has been president since 1993.
The Maine Water Utilities Association recently honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the water industry during the course of her career.
In a release, Wallingford said one of her favorite career highlights was leading Maine Water in 2016 into a very successful partnership with the Coastal Mountains Land Trust. Together the two organizations were able to forge an agreement that permanently preserves the company's watershed land around Mirror Lake and Grassy Pond in the Camden–Rockport area.
"Protecting this remarkable resource for future generations is very meaningful for our customers and communities, and to me personally," Wallingford said in the release.
Knowlton has been the vice president of operations since he joined Maine Water in 1993. In his new role, he will oversee the company's customer service, operations, engineering, water quality and field service teams.
In praising Knowlton as her successor, in the release Wallingford said: "I've worked alongside Rick for almost 25 years. He is a natural and accomplished leader, and he has an intense focus on world-class customer service for customers and communities. Maine Water is in good hands."
In a phone interview Wednesday, Knowlton said that for Midcoast residents served by Maine Water, the good news is that the water system, based on Grassy Pond and Mirror Lake, is in great shape.
"A significant investment was made there in 2010, and we just completed an upgrade to an automated control system, which brings in greater cyber security and technology," said Knowlton. "Expectations of really great water, all the time, are there, and we have great tools to make that happen."

Knowlton said that looking forward, in Camden and Rockport, the next five years will be about really caring for things that that already started.
"Like the Coastal Mountains Land Trust project, it was negotiated and signed by Judy, but we need to finish it, completing one step this year and another step next year," said Knowlton. "We have committed to help create the Round the Mountain Trail with the Land Trust, and maintaining the time-line will be important."

He said that the company's infrastructure replacement program is "solid" and is going to continue, including working with each of the communities and the state Department of Transportation as they go along.

Knowlton said there are sections of water main replacement and extension that the company would like to move forward on, including along a section of Route 1 in Rockport.

"There is a section of Route 1, between Pen Bay Medical Center and the State of Maine Cheese building that does not have water service, and everybody things it should," said Knowlton. "Making that happen is something we are also focused on."

Knowlton worked out of the company’s customer service operations on Route 17 in Rockport until the spring of 2014, when all of the leadership team, including Wallingford, administrative engineering, financial and technical personnel, and customer service staff relocated to the Biddeford area.

Knowlton has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Maine, and an Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University.

Maine Water serves 32,000 customers, or a population of 100,000, in more than 20 communities throughout the state of Maine.

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• Maine Water moving 10 leadership, customer service and administration jobs from Rockport to Biddeford