VISALIA, Calif. — California Water Service (Cal Water) has selected Stephen (Steve) Johnson to lead the utility's Visalia District permanently. Johnson has been serving as the Interim District Manager since April 2020 and worked in Cal Water's Central Valley districts for 25 years.

Johnson has been with Cal Water since 1995 and has extensive, hands-on knowledge of water distribution, operations, and treatment systems. Before returning to Visalia, he was most recently Local Manager of the utility's Selma District. He previously also served as an Operations Maintenance Worker and Superintendent locally. Johnson has Water Treatment Grade Three and Water Distribution Grade Five certifications from the State Water Resources Control Board. Johnson is from Visalia and is an active member of the Visalia Breakfast Lions Club.

"Steve is the right choice to run our Visalia District permanently because he has considerable expertise with Visalia operations and is strongly connected to the community," said Darin Duncan, Director of Field Operations. "We have learned to expect great things from Steve and know he will provide quality, service, and value to our local customers."

Cal Water serves about 46,000 service connections in Visalia and about 2 million people through 489,600 service connections in California. The utility has provided water service in the area since 1926. Additional information may be obtained online at www.calwater.com.