November 4, 2012
Some managers wear out their welcome and get the boot. Jim Naismith had the opposite problem – his board of directors wouldn’t let him leave.
Naismith is retiring as general manager of the San Patricio Municipal Water District, a job he had held since 1989. Already 76 and busy with an ever growing extended family, he let the District’s board of directors know in 2010 that he was ready to retire. A search for a replacement ended with job applicants in the wings, a developing avalanche of prospective companies seeking industrial water and the board unwilling to let their trusted manager exit.
True to his management style Jim set out to win his release. He hired Brian Williams – one of the many applicants for Jim’s job. He made Williams an assistant manager and told him there would be an opening in a year or so; the rest was up to him. Ten months later the deal is done.
Jim Naismith’s life has been connected to the District for 52 years starting 1961 when he returned to Corpus Christi to work as an engineer in training at the Blucher and Naismith engineering firm. His father – James S. Naismith – and the firm had been hired in 1958 to serve as engineers to the Water District which was in its infancy.
Billie Jo Tennill of Odem has been a member of the District board of directors since 1974 and has been board president since 2004. “Jim brought the Water District from the dark to the present and into the future. People from around the country and around the world come to tour and learn about our exceptional water treatment facilities,” she said. And recalling their decades of working together she said, “Jim is a great friend to have.”
Board member Ed Rainwater of Rockport praised Naismith for his leadership skills. His assessment: “Those of us who worked with Jim know him as a kind, gentle, caring and respected individual. Those traits combined in a very effective leadership style which resulted in achieving outstanding results during his tenure. Jim is very good at fostering teamwork and leading by example.”
The Bouncing Ball
Naismith had been making retirement plans for a while – mostly dealing with being proud of his four accomplished children and a swarm of 15 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren that together could man several basketball teams.
His retirement took an unplanned turn in March 2012 with the death of his younger brother Ian Naismith, age 73. Ian had devoted much of his life to promoting youth sports and protecting the heritage of their legendary grandfather, Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. At the funeral celebrating Ian’s life and in the months following, Jim was pulled into the world of basketball. He now is a member of the board of trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the city where Dr. Naismith wrote the Original Rules of Basketball in 1891 while working at the YMCA. Jim has also connected with the University of Kansas where his grandfather served for 41 years as the school pastor, athletic director and first basketball coach. KU is also where the Original Rules of Basketball document will be displayed in a new building on campus.
Jim is not sure where this basketball journey will lead but says that it is important that people remember that Dr. Naismith’s first degree was in theology and that he saw the game of basketball as a way to promote sportsmanship, help develop strong character and instill Christian values, especially in young people. Dr. Naismith considered the game a gift.
Water for the Future
Naismith said it is pretty clear to most everyone in the Northshore region that the availability of adequate water of the proper quality is critical to the continuing development of the area. “One of the reasons I have enjoyed the job so much is that normally we are under the radar but we are dealing with something that is very, very important. As you get older you want to spend your time and energies on something that is really important. Water is in that corner,” he said.
He recalls a conversation with his father in 1958. Jim was nearing graduation with a civil engineering degree from Cornell University and thinking of staying another year to attend graduate school. He asked his father what area he should focus on and the senior Naismith asked what he liked. “I told him the professors I liked the most were in the water area. He said water is important now and it will be more so. Of course he was 100% correct.”
Jim noted that there has been a completely unforeseen reversal of regional prospects with the development of huge energy reserves in the nearby Eagle Ford Shale.
“The prediction 10 years ago was that we were probably not going to see continuing industrial development around the Port of Corpus Christi simply because of our competitive position. But the fuel availability has completely turned that over and we have to deal with it.”
All of those industrial prospects will require water and some will need a lot. “The pressure on the available inexpensive water supply will continue to increase which will then move us to the question of what else is available. That will include brackish or saline groundwater and seawater. Some people think that the reason desalination is not available now is because of the technology challenge. That is not really correct. I think the real reason is because when you tell people what it is going to cost they are hoping there is a cheaper option. It is possible that as desal technology continues it will get somewhat cheaper. There is some hope on the horizon but nothing you can show right now.”
“I have told the board consistently over several years that we don’t really have a water availability problem, we have a cost problem. We can do what people want to pay for. The real problem is what do people want to pay for,” he said, pointing out that at least one potential customer has said that the cost of desal water would not be a deal breaker if it comes to that. “That is an important statement and I think they understand what they are saying. There is way too much going on with some of these projects to be stumbling over the water cost because frankly water cost is not that big a part of the picture for them.”
The Water District’s response to the parade of potential new customers has been to push an extremely flexible expansion planning process. “We understand the reality that these companies have got to know that water is available before they can get the investment money to do their project,” he said. “We don’t know how many of them are going to go or what their total demand will be. When things change we change.”
The most pressing need will be increasing the amount of untreated raw water that can be delivered from the Nueces River and the Lake Texana pipeline to the District’s treatment complex. Treatment options and expanded capacity will follow. Naismith pointed out that for the past 20 years the District has had a special spot in the world of water treatment facilities because it has three different plants and the ability to produce both drinking water and several streams of different quality industrial water depending on the customer’s need.
What makes the San Patricio Water District different? “We have a size advantage; we have a mix advantage; we have a location advantage being in the center of a developing industrial area; and we’ve worked with all those advantages to produce some really neat results.” Among those he points to the fact that while the three treatment plants process about 20 million gallons a day there is no wasted process water. A typical loss is about 5% which would amount to 1 million gallons a day. What would usually be a waste stream from these plants is processed as feedwater and sold to lower quality demanding customers. Water leaving the plant site either goes through a customer’s meter or leaves by evaporation. The only exception is flush water leaving the settling basins about every three months. This water, and the solids included, joins reclaimed treated wastewater effluent and is pumped to an industrial site nearby for dust control, closure and process water.
“The net loss is close to zero and I am proud of it. That’s part of my Scottish heritage,” he says with a grin. “If a nickel isn’t squealing then you’re not pinching it hard enough. Now that doesn’t apply to the little stuff – that will just frustrate people. Go for the big stuff. We’re pretty good on conservation here.”
Special Influences
Along with his father, Jim points to Wilbur A. Edwards of Ingleside and Judge W.E. Nicholas of Sinton, long-time attorney for the Water District, as important influences in his life and in his management philosophy. Edwards was one of the founding board members of the Water District in 1951. He was general manager until 1974 and served as president of the board from 1951 until his death in 1976. “As a young man he helped me so much in learning how to get things done and how you deal with people.”
Jim also points to the valuable leadership provided by each of the 37 people who have been members of the board of directors over the past 60 years. He was acquainted with all of them and points out that being a board member is about providing time and leadership to your community. “This board is not somewhere you want to be if your real interest is politics rather than serving the people,” he said.
The fact that the board has always included an appointed member has also been a strength for the District. Traditionally that member has been a representative of industry or a retired plant manager. Ed Rainwater, a retired chemical company executive, has held that position since 2006. “To have that kind of help on this board for an organization this size is extremely rare. Ed and all of the directors have provided solid guidance and been consistent help to me in managing the District,” Jim said.
Building a Career
Jim graduated from Corpus Christi’s Ray High School in 1953 and attended Del Mar College before heading off to Cornell where he earned a bachelors degree in civil engineering (1958) and a masters degree in sanitary and hydraulic engineering (1959). After his graduate 
degree he was a faculty instructor teaching hydraulics and sanitary engineering. Following the teaching experience he spent time as an engineer with the California Central Coastal Region Water Pollution Control Board before starting his career at Blucher and Naismith which later became known as Naismith Engineering, Inc.
Jim became a registered professional engineer in 1963, first in New York State and then in Texas, Wyoming and Missouri. By 1976 he had taken over as president of the firm, a position he held until he sold it in 1989 to a group of engineers within the company. During those years he worked on major projects for the Water District starting with the design and construction of the 36-inch pipeline completed in 1964. It delivers water from Calallen to the site of the current treatment complex between Gregory and Ingleside. Other projects he worked on as a consulting engineer include the original treatment plant (Plant A), the industrial water treatment plant (Plant B), and storage facilities and transmission lines.
In the 1980s Jim was elected to the Calallen ISD school board, served as chairman of the Corpus Christi Zoning Board of Adjustment and was president of the Corpus Christi Rotary Club. He also served on the national board of directors of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Naismith made a life move in 1989. Buddy Miller, the Water District’s general manager, was ready to think about retirement. Jim decided that was where he wanted to be. He sold his company and signed on as the District’s assistant general manager and district engineer. Four months later he took over the operation. And for the next 23 years he guided it with a steady hand, built a strong staff, attracted talented consultants, oversaw major expansion projects, sought out state-of-the-art technology, explored non-traditional water supply options and nursed the District’s relationships with both municipal and industrial water customers.
Retirement Reception - An event honoring Jim Naismith's service was held Nov. 9th.
A collection of photos from the event are HERE.
