City of Austin selects new director for Austin Water

AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin named a new Austin Water director. This comes after a few years of several city-wide boil water notices.

Shay Ralls Roalson was selected from a group of 55 applicants, and will be the first woman to serve at the top of Austin Water. 

She has 29 years of experience working with water utilities, most recently joining Austin Warer as assistant director in April 2020.

Shay Ralls Roalson was selected as the new Austin Water director.

Prior to joining Austin Water, Roalson was the Central Texas Water Business Group Manager at HDR Engineering, Inc., where she consulted with utilities across Texas, including Austin Water, San Antonio Water System, and Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. Roalson received her master’s degree from the University of Texas and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas.

Former director Greg Meszaros announced his resignation in February. It came after Austin's third boil water notice in four years. 

Roalson will start in January 2023.