Carrying Ashtabula's Legacy Forward

In Opflow's past three issues, this column has traced the history of the Ashtabula Water Works Company, a private water utility in a small Northeast Ohio city, and the individuals whose leadership guided the system through more than a century of growth and change. The column has discussed the leadership of Frank J. “Doc” Hull and Ed Jaskela, whose stewardship carried the utility from the early days of chlorination through the regulatory changes that followed the Safe Drinking Water Act. By the early 21st century, however, aging infrastructure, new compliance requirements, and a change in ownership would usher in another period of transformation guided by a new generation of water professionals.