It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”

Jessica Lynch, incoming general manager and chief engineer

PORTSMOUTH — William McGlinn said he’ll be leaving the Portsmouth Water and Fire District in good hands when he retires in October after 29 years as general manager/chief engineer and hands the reigns over to Jessica C. Lynch of Portsmouth.

Not only is his successor an excellent fit for the District, he said, but she was fortunate to have had the same mentor as him.

In 1977, 11 years before he started work for the District, Mr. McGlinn got a job at a design engineering firm. He was hired by a man named Jack Keaney, who mentored him for a number of years. Mr. Keaney would go on to work for CDM Smith, a consulting engineering firm in Providence, where he met and mentored Ms. Lynch.

“He’s retired now, but we had the same person who we worked and learned from, and I think that’s pretty cool,” said Mr. McGlinn, noting the age disparity between him and Ms. Lynch — 63 and 35, respectively. “(Mr. Keaney) was the president of New England Water Works for a while. He’s very well-known and respected in the industry and we were both lucky.”

Ms. Lynch, a 2000 graduate of Portsmouth High School, agreed. “It was such a sad day to lose him through retirement because he had such knowledge,” she said at the District office last week. “He would sit with you and teach you and he mentored me for a while and then we sat side by side on projects.”

For the next four months, she’ll be training with Mr. McGlinn, who said he decided a while back it was time for a change.

“I set the date about two and a half years ago,” he said. “A friend told me that a friend told him, if you don’t pick a date, you’ll never do it. It’s been 41 years in civil engineering. I’ve had enough, and we need younger and fresher eyes and young enthusiasm, which Jessica brings for sure.”

The District, which decided it wanted to stick with having a general manager who was also an engineer, started looking for a replacement in February. Ms. Lynch started working for the District on June 13 under a three-year employment contract.

A registered professional engineer in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, she has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s Degree in civil engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She’s been a project engineer and project manager with CDM Smith for 13 years.

Philip T. Driscoll, chairman of the District’s Administrative Board, said Ms. Lynch was chosen for her substantial experience in water distribution and water treatment design. In her former position with CDM Smith, she managed over 12 water and wastewater projects for the City of Brockton, Mass., with contracts ranging from $50,000 to $1.1 million. 

Additionally, she worked with various municipalities, regulatory agencies, lawyers, contractors, vendors and other consulting firms on a variety of environmental engineering projects. 

‘Easiest decision’

“I wasn’t really looking for a job,” Ms. Lynch said. “I loved CDM and got great experience and lots of exposure on different projects in different municipalities.”

But when the District job was posted Ms. Lynch, who grew up in Portsmouth and moved around a bit before returning to her hometown about a year ago, jumped at the chance to apply.

“I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to work here,” she said. “I love Portsmouth, I love doing water work, I’m close to my family. I was so excited. It was the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”

Ms. Lynch and her husband, Ryan, who teaches in New Bedford, have two children: Genevieve, 6, and Owen, 3. Her mother, Kathleen Beebe, is chairwoman of the Science Department at PHS. 

Ms. Lynch gained knowledge about the local water system through her nearly 13 years of work for CDM Smith. The engineering firm advised the City of Newport — a District supplier — on its water treatment plant improvement project.

“I was really fortunate to have experience on a lot of different projects, both wastewater and water, but I’ve done pump stations, metering stations, a ton of different water mains, I’ve done some water treatment. I think I bring a lot of good knowledge in a lot of different things here,” she said.

Proud of district’s accomplishments

Mr. McGlinn, whose position didn’t exist before he was hired by the District nearly three decades ago, was asked what he was most proud of during his 29-years tenure.

“The professionalism of the District — we’re operating at a high-quality level,” he said, adding that staff members make decisions “focused on water and any problems and not based on who’s in charge or who said what.”

The District also has a reputation of hiring high-quality workers, he said. “Having a non-union setup helps; we have a lot of give-and-take with the staff. We have an excellent staff and we’re proud of that,” he said.

In addition, the District has made substantial improvements to its water system, Mr. McGlinn said.

“Way back in the late ’80s we had (outdoor water-use) moratoriums and a lot of those issues have been resolved, as have the water quality issues with Newport with the new plants. We were part of that discussion with Newport,” he said.

Mr. McGlinn said the District is “in a real good place,” but there’s more work to be done.

“Our first pipes went in to Common Fence Point and Island Park in the late ’50s,” he said. “Jessica’s going to be involved in the planning of those replacements over the next few years. We have a new pump station that’s going to be built on Union Street to buy water from Newport. Jessica’s going to be handle that whole project. That’s right in her wheelhouse; she’s been doing a lot of that work with the consulting firm. So this is a perfect time to hand off.”