[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 62 (Thursday, April 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E713-E714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO WALTER J. BISHOP, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE CONTRA COSTA WATER 
                         DISTRICT IN CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 2010

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay 
tribute to Walter J. Bishop on the occasion of his retirement after 18 
years as the general manager of the Contra Costa Water District in 
California.
  Wally Bishop has served as the general manager for the Contra Costa 
Water District, which supplies water to 550,000 people, during some 
very important and critical periods. Over this time, he has been a 
tireless--some might even say relentless--leader for the Contra Costa 
Water District, making significant contributions not only at the local 
and regional level but to statewide and national water policy as well.
  He has worked throughout his tenure to improve our region's drinking 
water quality, to secure a sustainable water supply, and to restore and 
protect the Bay-Delta ecosystem. I am pleased to be able to say that I 
have worked with him on many of his successes, and as some of my 
colleagues know, he can be a formidable adversary as well.
  Although nothing comes easily in California water, Mr. Bishop has 
succeeded in putting Contra Costa Water District at the forefront of 
responsible and sustainable water management in the State. Under his 
direction, the Los Vaqueros Reservoir Project was the first major 
reservoir to be permitted and constructed in California in more than a 
decade, and the water district's ongoing reservoir expansion project, 
intake relocation, and screening efforts will not only improve Contra 
Costa's water supply but provide important statewide economic and 
environmental benefits as well.
  A registered civil engineer, Wally Bishop has been honored many times 
by his profession and by the larger water and engineering communities. 
In addition to the awards presented to Contra Costa Water District 
under his leadership, he has personally been honored with the American 
Society of Civil Engineer's Award for Achievement in Environmental 
Engineering/Government Service and the American Public Works 
Association's Charles Nichols Award for Leadership and Innovative 
Management.
  He has also served with distinction in national leadership roles, 
including as the chair of the Water Research Foundation and on the

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board of directors of the American Water Works Association, and he has 
been appointed to two terms on the Environmental Protection Agency's 
National Drinking Water Advisory Council.
  Thanks in large part to Wally Bishop's leadership, the Contra Costa 
Water District is today in an excellent position to face the challenges 
of the 21st century. This is no accident: He is one of the true 
innovators and strategic thinkers in California water matters, and he 
and his staff have worked tirelessly throughout his tenure.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Wally Bishop on his 
retirement, and to thank him for his many years of public service. He 
is leaving big shoes to fill, and I hope that in addition to spending 
more time with his wife Patty, he will continue to contribute his 
energy and his ideas to the world of California water.

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