An era is coming to an end at the “Westpfalz” Water Supply Association – that of its chairman, Arno Mohr – an era which has lasted 18 years.
If we add his time as deputy chairman, from 2001 to 2006, the total rises to 24 years during which the former mayor of the Alsenz-Obermoschel municipal association played a decisive role in shaping the fortunes of the association, which was founded in 1970.
The “Westpfalz” Water Supply Association sources and distributes water from its own wells to the respective local municipal utilities serving around 72,000 people in the Northern and Western Palatinate. The association’s headquarters is the large waterworks in Weilerbach. The supply area covers around 1,200 square kilometres across seven municipalities.
Up to 5 million euros are invested annually to keep over 100 elevated tanks, 495 kilometres of water pipes, nine deep wells and other technical facilities, such as the pumping stations, up to date.
The successor to the 65-year-old independent Mohr will be his former deputy, Harald Westrich, mayor of the Otterbach-Otterberg municipal association, with effect from 1 January 2025. The new deputy is Rudolf Jacob, mayor of the Winnweiler municipal association.
Both were elected unanimously by the members of the association’s general assembly (comprising seven mayors and deputy mayors from the municipalities in northern and western Palatinate, and the managing director of SWK Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern GmbH, Dr Arvid Blume) at the most recent meeting in Wartenberg-Rohrbach.
Under Mohr’s leadership, decisions within the special-purpose association were almost always unanimous. This spirit of collaboration was very important to him. He managed to reconcile the interests of the various association members and to present the special-purpose association as a strong, united entity both internally and externally. His professional expertise and detailed knowledge of the subject matter, as well as his down-to-earth nature and humanity, were always a great asset in this regard. Even particular challenges were successfully overcome. According to Mohr, the greatest of these were ensuring a sustainable water supply, protecting water resources, the construction of the activated carbon filter plant, the major fire at a tyre dealer – which unfortunately caused damage to a well – and the management of annual projects in collaboration with the operator SWK.
These included the construction of new connecting pipelines, the refurbishment and construction of new elevated tanks and pumping stations, the modernisation of electrical measurement, control and regulation systems, and driving forward digitalisation in various areas of the special-purpose association.
He preferred to take a look at these matters on site to form his own impression. On various occasions, he vehemently defended the interests of the association and the people and businesses it serves. Better connectivity within the association’s supply area, as well as externally with other suppliers such as the Ohmbachtal Water Association and Kaiserslautern Municipal Utilities, was very close to Mohr’s heart, particularly in view of climate change, to ensure a reliable water supply.
Mayor Harald Westrich thanked Mohr, the association’s longest-serving chairman, for his leadership, his humanity and his perseverance. Arno Mohr leaves behind a legacy to live up to. Mohr carried out the role of association chairman and fulfilled his duties with great passion. Westrich paid tribute to Mohr’s work and looked back on some of the major initiatives from his tenure. Mohr has chronicled the association’s development in a brochure marking the special-purpose association’s 50th anniversary, a task he undertook with great dedication and at considerable personal expense. Harald Westrich wished the outgoing chairman good health and happiness for the future.
Dr Arvid Blume, Chairman of the Board of SWK Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern Versorgungs-AG, also paid tribute to Arno Mohr’s work and, as the association’s operations manager, expressed his gratitude for the excellent cooperation since 2001 and the trust placed in SWK.