After five years as deputy director, Kristen Bowman Kavanagh stepped into her new role as executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission on December 1, writes Meg McGuire for the Delaware Currents.

A Philadelphia native, Kavanagh describes the DRBC as the hub of a wheel, with Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and the federal government forming its spokes.

“The DRBC is not independent, but rather a mediator for the states and federal government to look after the water resources of the basin for the good of all stakeholders,” she said. “It’s as if we are a separate department of each state and of the federal government.”

Kavanagh is a Stanford University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering: environmental and water resources and a master’s in civil engineering: environmental fluid mechanics and hydrology.

She learned the true value of water from living in California, due its years-long droughts. That got her interested in the state’s massive reservoir systems.

“Here, we’re more concerned about flooding but climate change will bring changes that will affect our water-supply systems,” she said. “We should expect changes in precipitation. Our job is to plan for that.”

Read the entire interview on Kristen Bowman Kavanagh in the Delaware Currents.

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