From the Macon Water Authority:

The Macon Water Authority (MWA) Board of Directors has selected Joseph “Joey” Leverette to lead the utility as its new Executive Director, following an exhaustive search and review process. The Authority announced in October that Leverette was one of two finalists for the utility’s chief executive position.

Leverette, who is a Middle Georgia native having grown up in Warner Robins, joins the MWA from Gainesville Regional Utilities, where he served as Director of Water Distribution & Wastewater Collections. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, as well as an undergraduate degree in Arts from the University of Georgia. Leverette has more than 26 years of management experience for utilities in the water, wastewater, and stormwater industries.

Leverette, a utility executive with a wide-range of industry experience, has worked as a Utility Director for a small utility, a Division Manager in a medium-sized utility, and in his most recent position a Director for a large, comprehensive, and multi-faceted utility in Gainesville, Florida. According to Authority officials, his work experience is an ideal match for the current and future developments he will oversee as MWA Executive Director.

For example, he has experience implementing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which is currently underway at the MWA as a part of a long-term capital project. In addition, Mr. Leverette has experience overseeing a Stormwater Management Program, which is similar to what the MWA assumed from Macon-Bibb County Government this year. Leverette also has been involved in the development of a major water reclamation facility, similar to the $51 million capital improvement project the MWA is completing at its Lower Poplar and Rocky Creek Plants.

After being officially introduced to the MWA Board and staff during the December Authority Board Meeting, Mr. Leverette expressed his excitement to return home for an opportunity to lead one of the model utilities in the state and region.

“I know full well the Macon Water Authority’s reputation as an outstanding and progressive organization within the industry in Georgia,” he says. “I’m honored to be chosen as the new Executive Director, and I look forward to building mutually beneficial working relationships within the utility and community. I have strived to maintain a high level of integrity with peers, subordinates, customers, and governing bodies, and I pledge to continue to do that here at the Macon Water Authority.”

Leverette began his career in the water industry as an Operations Supervisor and then as the Assistant Director of the Public Service Department at the City of Hapeville, Georgia. He later relocated to Oconee County, Georgia, where he worked as the Utility Director for the Oconee County Utility Department. During his time in Oconee County, he transitioned into the private sector as an Operations Manager for JJ&G Services, Inc. – one of the nation’s largest engineering consulting firms. He was later hired by the City of Gainesville as its Division Manager of Distribution, Collection, and Stormwater – a position he held for 16 years before being promoted to Director of Water Distribution & Wastewater Collection, where he has served the past five years before becoming MWA Executive Director. Leverette’s professional credentials include state licensure in Georgia as a Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection Operator, as well as a Class II Water Treatment Operator.

According to Authority officials, Mr. Leverette officially begins his first day in the office on  Jan. 3, 2022, when the utility reopens after the New Year’s Holiday.

“We are looking forward to the opportunities that Mr. Leverette’s leadership will bring to the Macon Water Authority and our community,” says Sam Hart, Sr., MWA Chairman.