Longtime water industry veteran Alan Scott Haskins, who spent much of his career working for the City of Seattle and later with CH2M/Jacobs and as an independent consultant, passed away on June 26. He was 74.
Haskins spent more than 40 years working in the water utility sector. He was an industry leader in areas ranging from utility financial management, asset and risk management, alternative contracting, strategic planning and leadership development to performance management, benchmarking, environmental management and sustainability, resilience, risk management and business case analysis.
Per Haskins’ LinkedIn bio, his time with the City of Seattle, which dates back to 1975, included more than 20 years with the Seattle Water Department. There, Haskins held roles in finance, project development, operations and maintenance, community programs, planning and executive leadership over the full range of drinking water, wastewater and solid waste functions of the utility.
In 2007 Haskins shifted to the private sector, joining Jacobs Engineering (then CH2M Hill). In recent years, he formed Haskins Strategic LLC, working as an independent consultant.
Haskins actively participated in the industry, serving on many committees with various organizations and in several leadership roles, including on the advisory board for the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Washington and on the advisory panel for Seattle’s public power utility, Seattle City Light. Haskins participated in numerous research projects for both national and international organizations, gave many presentations, authored numerous articles and served on the editorial advisory board to Water Finance & Management. He was also the co-author of several books.
Haskins most recently spoke to WF&M for our December 2022 cover story on Santa Cruz Water Director Rosemary Menard, for whom Haskins helped get her start in the water industry at Seattle Water Department.
Many of Haskins’ colleagues wrote heartfelt messages on LinkedIn responding to a post in June that shared the news of his passing. He was described as a “luminary in the water utility world” and an “outstanding mentor to many.”
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared for the Haskins family here: https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/lynnwood-wa/alan-haskins-11352306
