San Lorenzo Valley Water District hires Jason Lillion as new general manager

Lillion has more than 26 years of experience with water systems and launched his career in 1999 at the Indian Wells Valley Water District in Ridgecrest, Calif.

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By PK Hattis | Santa Cruz Sentinel (TNS)

BOULDER CREEK, CALIF. — The San Lorenzo Valley Water District has found a new leader for its staff.

At its June 5 meeting, the district’s board unanimously agreed to hire Jason Lillion as general manager. Lillion’s first day will be July 1, and his base salary has been set at $250,000, according to a release from the district.

“We’re pleased to welcome Jason as our new General Manager,” said Board President Mark Smolley in the release. “His strong background in water systems management will serve the District well. We also extend our sincere thanks to Acting General Manager Jennifer Torres for her steady leadership throughout this transition.”

Lillion has more than 26 years of experience with water systems and operations and launched his career in 1999 at the Indian Wells Valley Water District in Ridgecrest, California. Lillion has been there ever since and had been serving as the district’s operations manager since 2012.

The district’s top staffer is poised to oversee a number of critical projects that are meant to address aging infrastructure, wildfire hardening, reliability and water supply resiliency.

Lillion’s appointment caps off a process to find a permanent general manager for the district that began more than a year ago. Longtime district General Manager Rick Rogers retired in 2023 after almost 50 years with the district and was succeeded by Brian Frus on an interim basis. However, Frus resigned from the position last August after a tumultuous tenure, which led to the appointment of another interim general manager in October, John Kunkel.

Kunkel filled the role until May when he was succeeded by the district’s third interim General Manager Jen Torres, who also had experience as the district’s secretary.

But the board itself also hasn’t been immune from experiencing significant turnover in recent days and years. The district is actively looking to fill the seat of former director Jeff Hill, who resigned in May due to an increase in family obligations. The board also experienced at least two unexpected vacancies in 2024. Bryan Largay was appointed in June to fill the seat of former Director Gail Mahood and Alina Layng was selected to replace former Director Jayme Ackemann. Both Mahood and Ackemann moved out of the area, according to district media releases.

Largay and Layng both won election to full board terms in November.

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District services more than 7,900 metered connections primarily in the Santa Cruz Mountains and was established in 1941.

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