City Manager Thomas A. Golden, Jr. Announces Appointment of Aaron Fox, Chief Utility Officer

City Manager Thomas A. Golden, Jr. has announced the hiring of Mr. Aaron Fox as the City's first Chief Utility Officer (CUO), a position created by the Lowell City Council in the FY2026 budget with the goal of integrating the City's regional water and wastewater utility departments.

Mr. Fox, a Lowell resident, has been employed by the City of Lowell since 2014 in various capacities at the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility (LRWWU), culminating in his appointment as Executive Director in July 2023. Prior to assuming command of the department, Mr. Fox served as the Operations Manager, and the Maintenance and Collections Manager. Throughout his public service to Lowell, he provided strategic direction, process control, workforce development, and leadership in the day-to-day operations of LRWWU. In his role as the Executive Director, his major responsibilities included oversight, planning, and budgeting for major sewer infrastructure projects, equipment upgrades, and system expansions.

"Mr. Fox is a proven leader who will be a key component of the Administration's management of an incredibly aggressive and complex water and sewer capital improvement campaign," said City Manager Golden. "The Lowell City Council has authorized $175 million in sewer separation projects and improvements to the City's drinking water facility and distribution infrastructure. The technical expertise, background, and institutional knowledge that Mr. Fox possesses will ensure the success of the City's efforts to comply with the federal mandates from the EPA and improve public health through improvements to our aging infrastructure."

The City of Lowell's water and sewer departments are comprised of 41 full time equivalent (FTE) positions and 50 FTEs as of the FY2026 budget. The CUO was a newly created position by the Lowell City Council in the FY2026 budget. The creation of the position was the first phase of a multi-faceted strategy by the City Administration and the City Council to integrate the two utility departments in order to achieve operational efficiency, and to undertake an historic level of investment in the City's regional water and sewer facilities and their infrastructure.

Mr. Fox holds both a Masters of Science (MS) degree in Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Engineering from UMass Lowell. He brings over 25 years of experience in the wastewater industry, including 12 years of managerial and leadership experience. He has a proven track record in strategic planning, employee leadership, operational management, and meeting financial targets.

Mr. Fox accepting the 2025 National Environmental Achievement Award for Utility Leadership from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)