Rainbow Water District hires new general manager

FALLBROOK — A recruitment effort that reached as far as India ended Friday when the Rainbow Municipal Water District Board of Directors hired a Fallbrook man as their new general manager.

At a special meeting, directors unanimously approved a five-year contract with new General Manager Dave Seymour, a three-year Fallbrook resident. Seymour, 50, begins his new job, which pays $156,000 a year, on September 17.

By accepting the Rainbow position, Seymour will leave his post of director of operations for the Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD), a 100-square-mile agency that has about 130 employees and about 60,000 connections in south Orange County. He worked for SMWD for over 20 years and has more than 30 years of public works experience. He also has a master’s degree in business administration.

Rainbow directors said they were pleased with their choice and picked Seymour from more than 150 applicants because of his versatility, expertise and management skills. He is well versed in water supply and policy issues, financial and human resource management and facility planning. His technical expertise will assist in operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of Rainbow’s infrastructure such as planning stations, water and sewer mains, reservoirs and related facilities.

“We don’t have a rookie here,” board president Rua Petty told district employees in a brief introduction and question-and-answer session. “The quality of applicants was excellent and, at the end, Dave filtered to the top and I think it will be a positive new era for the district.”

Seymour said he was thrilled to be chosen to head the 50-employee district that is bisected by Interstate 15 and has about 7,200 connections in the Fallbrook, Bonsall and Rainbow areas.

“I like to work on a variety of projects,” he said after the board vote. “I like challenges and I think this position gives me an opportunity to be involved in a lot of interesting projects. That and being six minutes from home is nice, too.”

Among Seymour’s certifications are the State of California Water Distribution Operator License-Grade V, State of California Water Treatment Plant Operator License-Grade III and Mechanical Technologist-California Water Pollution Control Association-Grade IV.