Josh Wolff, SLVWD District Engineer 1970-2023
By Mark Dolson
The San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) – and the entire San Lorenzo Valley — suffered an enormous loss on June 8, 2023 when District Engineer Josh Wolff experienced a fatal medical emergency at the age of 52 while walking the District’s Peavine Raw Water Pipeline route. Josh was with the SLVWD for only a little over two years, but his positive impact, both on the District’s infrastructure and on everyone he interacted with, was truly exceptional.
The path that led Josh to SLVWD was both circuitous and serendipitous. Josh grew up in the San Lorenzo Valley in the 1970s and served four years in the Marines, seeing action in the first Gulf War and rising to the rank of corporal. He spent ten years as a master technician for Ford Motor Company, but elbow surgery in his 30s motivated him to reassess his career direction. He decided to return to school and received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado in 2010.
In 2020, Josh was working over the hill for Sandis Engineering when the CZU Fire struck. Josh showed up on loan in the middle of the fire, started working in the field with SLVWD staff, and immediately became part of the family. In the months following the fire, Josh continued to make major contributions, and the Director of Operations finally urged Josh to apply for SLVWD’s open District Engineer position. The District had been struggling for years to find someone who was a good fit for this challenging role, but Josh thought he lacked the necessary qualifications. Happily, this turned out to be the one thing Josh was completely wrong about!
Josh formally joined SLVWD on January 11, 2021, and he immediately moved to the valley and set to work building a high-functioning engineering department and upgrading the District’s infrastructure to today’s standards. Today this department has a staff of three, a recently completed Water Master Plan, and greatly expanded technical capabilities. This, in turn, has enabled the District to achieve significant cost reductions by bringing more of its work in-house.
District Manager Rick Rogers says that Josh’s contributions extended far beyond these specific accomplishments. He described Josh as being truly dedicated both to the District and to the valley. Josh worked countless extra hours, always went the extra mile, always had a smile, and was always enthusiastic and positive, even in challenging situations. Not only did Rick never receive a complaint, but he routinely received unsolicited praise from consultants, county staff, customers, and virtually everyone who Josh encountered. People universally described Josh not only as a pleasure to work with but as an uncommonly well-rounded engineer.
Board President and Chair of the Engineering Committee Mark Smolley echoed this description. He was particularly impressed with the positive changes that Josh was able to usher into the District, and with the way that Josh was able to respectfully and constructively provide Rick with a contrasting technical perspective when appropriate.
A perhaps less well-known but equally impressive side of Josh can be seen in the wide range of activities that he pursued with his wife Ariah outside of work. Returning to the Santa Cruz Mountains made Josh incredibly happy, and the two of them engaged in endless explorations, mountain biking, and horseback riding, along with powerlifting and rescuing and retraining dogs. Yet another deeply fulfilling part of their lives together was their longtime commitment to the Society for Creative Anachronism where Josh was an expert in full-contact sword fighting and the reigning king. Josh joined the Society at the age of 16, and his generous approach to his coworkers was consistent with the Society’s belief that the people you surround yourself with create the experience you bring to the world. Consequently, Josh was always careful to appreciate and give credit to those around him.
Josh considered his position at SLVWD to be his dream job: not only did he love working as an engineer and partnering with his SLVWD coworkers, but he was especially excited to be rebuilding the water system in the community he grew up in. Josh made it clear that his goal was to remain with SLVWD for the remainder of his career, and his hope was to one day serve as the District Manager.
In turn, Josh was viewed by everyone associated with SVLWD as a dream addition to the team. His collaborative and supportive approach, together with his considerable technical expertise, enabled him to have an immediate and enduring positive impact both on his coworkers and on our community. As a result, he is deeply missed on both a personal and a professional level.
Mark Dolson is a member of the local citizens’ group Friends of San Lorenzo Valley Water (FSLVW), but he is writing here as a private citizen. FSLVW articles, initiatives, and Board meeting summaries are available online at friendsofsanlorenzovalleywater.org.
Photos contributed by Ariah Hume.
