Cynthia Lane, P.E. currently serves as the General Manager of Platte Canyon Water & Sanitation District. She joined the district in 2017 as the Assistant Manager and was appointed to General Manager in June 2021.
Cynthia holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Penn State University, a Masters of Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and is a registered Professional Engineer (Maryland).
Cynthia was previously the Director of Engineering & Technical Services for the American Water Works Association (AWWA), which is an international, nonprofit, scientific and educational society dedicated to ensuring the effective management of water. Prior to that, she worked in the Washington, DC office of AWWA as a policy analyst for four years where she was able to see the inner workings of how environmental laws and regulations are developed. “Working for AWWA provided me the opportunity to actively engage in the creation of these policies in a way that resulted in laws/regulations that were less burdensome on the water sector,” she states.
Cynthia also worked in the private sector for eight years as an environmental engineer. She is active in water policy issues at the federal and state levels, and currently serves as the Chair of the Colorado Water Utility Council and is a member of the AWWA Water Utility Council.
“The district was a great place for me to actually see what the business of running a water utility entails. With only 15 employees, it was possible to be actively involved in all aspects of district operations including financial, board management, field operations, and construction. This let me build my knowledge base and allowed me to be well prepared to step into the district manager position last year,” said Cynthia.
During her five years at the district, Cynthia has found the most challenging task to be balancing the infrastructure needs of the district with the available financial resources. “The district has a significant need for accelerated water main replacement projects, but there is only so much you can do with the available funding. We prioritize those water mains that are routinely failing, but there are always more water mains to be replaced than can actually be,” she stated.
When asked what she liked most about working at the district, Cynthia said, “The people that work here are amazing and have such dedication to their job and to our residents. That commitment to public health makes this an incredible place to work.”
Cynthia enjoys many outdoor activities including hiking, skiing, and cycling. “My husband and I are constantly traveling to new places and returning to old favorites. Experiencing other cultures is very important to me and I hope to continue to do that for the rest of my life.”
Congratulations on five years with the district, Cynthia!