Valley Water CEO to step down after misconduct probe, remain on payroll

The CEO of Silicon Valley’s largest water agency will step down after a year-long misconduct investigation.

Rick Callender, who has led the Santa Clara Valley Water District since 2020 and serves as president of the California-Hawaii NAACP State Conference, will leave his $520,000-a-year post March 1. Under an agreement approved Friday by the district’s elected board, he will remain on the public payroll for another year as an adviser to board chairman Tony Estremera.

The district...