Living Water Award 2026 Nominee

Christopher Retty

Senior Manager of Production Support, Veolia New Jersey

Chris, Senior Manager of Production Support for Veolia Water New Jersey, is nominated for his extraordinary heroism and selfless dedication during a major regional crisis. On the evening of July 4th, a catastrophic storm knocked out power to the critical Haworth Water Treatment Plant, which serves nearly 900,000 residents. Abandoning his planned vacation, Chris drove through dangerous, storm-ravaged conditions—navigating downed power lines, fallen trees and torrential rain—to reach the plant. Leveraging his deep technical expertise, he manually engaged the backup generators and carefully guided the 200 MGD plant back online. Chris worked through the night to secure the system, ensuring safe, uninterrupted drinking water for the community and successfully protecting the water infrastructure needed to host a high-profile World Cup game the very next day.