SACO — Mark Vannoy has been named vice president of Maine Water. Vannoy has served as Maine Water’s director of Administrative Services since October 2019. Prior to joining Maine Water, he served on the Maine Public Utility Commission and was chairman for five years beginning in 2014.

Rick Knowlton, president of Maine Water, said “In his time with Maine Water, Mark has demonstrated his leadership as he coordinated the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which honored and reflected our core values of serving customers, employees and communities while protecting public health and safety.” Knowlton added, “Mark’s regulatory experience, combined with his background in civil and environmental engineering, gives him unique qualifications and skills.”

In this expanded leadership role, Vannoy will assume increased responsibilities for the day-to-day operations at Maine Water, leading 80 employees in service to their customers. He will collaborate to ensure Maine Water builds on its strong record of water quality compliance and customer satisfaction.

The move will also allow Knowlton to devote more of his attention to the construction of the new Saco River Drinking Water Treatment Facility that recently broke ground in Biddeford. The facility, which will serve customers in Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and a portion of Scarborough, is the largest infrastructure investment project ever undertaken by Maine Water. It will replace a facility that went into service in 1884. More information on the Saco River facility is available at MaineWater.com/NewWaterFacility.

While at the Maine Public Utility Commission between 2012 and 2019, Vannoy held a number of leadership positions at the regional and national levels. He’s a former board member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, past president of the New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners, former member of the Critical Infrastructure and Water Committees and former board chair of New England Utility Cybersecurity Information Collaborative. He is also experienced in the private sector, having served as associate vice president of the Civil and Infrastructure Engineering Practice Group for Wright-Pierce in Topsham.

A retired U.S. Navy officer, Vannoy is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University. He lives in Waldoboro with his family and is active in the local community.