Cascadia Water Case StudyA GENERATIONAL CHANGE TAKES PLACE. For over 40 years, the Lehman family owned and operated local water utilities on Whi...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
A GENERATIONAL CHANGE TAKES PLACE.
For over 40 years, the Lehman family owned and operated local water utilities on Whidbey Island in Washington State. The family got their start back in 1976 when they installed their first water system, then acquired several more over the years. To date, the combined systems serve a total of 4,900 people through 1,700 connections on Whidbey Island and the Olympic Penninsula. The diverse customer base includes year-round and seasonal residents comprised of young families, retirees and military personnel.
When the owners approached retirement age, they passed down the systems to their sons, Culley and Adam Lehman and Culley’s wife Amy Lehman. Once the trio assumed operations, they quickly realized the utility needed capital improvements to maintain safe and reliable service, meet changing customer demands, and adapt to growth. During the transition, NW Natural Water expressed interest in their business. “The timing was perfect,” says Culley Lehman.
The Lehmans had been approached to sell before, but it never felt right. “We operate long-time family-run utilities, and we’re very connected to the communities we serve,” explains Culley Lehman. Because NW Natural Water’s parent company, NW Natural, has a strong community-oriented reputation, the Lehmans were open to talking. Plans moved ahead and NW Natural established Cascadia Water, acquiring the Lehman’s system and a neighboring system.
A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS EVOLVES.
The Lehmans are actively involved in running Cascadia Water — Culley Lehman is General Manager and touches all aspects of the business, and Amy is Office Manager and handles billing and customer relations. “NW Natural Water was very open to us keeping our roles and being involved in a hands-on way — which really put us at ease,” says Amy.
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