1957-2007 DBW 50th

DE V E L OP I NG QUA L I T Y P R O GR A M S

Bill Satow has certainly seen a lot of changes during his 25 years with Cal Boating. This long-time public servant has been around water agencies his entire career, starting out at the California Department of Water Resources, where Bill worked for eight years as an economist. In 1967, Bill transferred to Cal Boating, largely because it was a smaller department, and he liked the idea of working with a close knit group of people. He conducted feasibility studies on many Cal Boating projects, including marina loans, harbor developments and boat launching facilities, looking into both the financial and economic benefits and justification for each one. Under the guidance of outstanding directors and commissioners, Bill had a wide variety of responsibilities at Cal Boating during his tenure as the department’s economist, boating facilities division chief and assistant director, and later as acting director. His biggest challenges came from working through the legislative process to get projects approved for funding and construction. “I took pride in the standardization of project design and guidelines for construction that were formulated while I was at Cal Boating,” notes Bill. “The quality of construction at boat launch facilities and

Bill Satow Department Economist, 1967–1969 Boating Facility Division Chief, 1969–1983 Assistant Director, 1983–1991 Acting Director, 1992

...1966

Department obtains authority to construct “capital outlay” boating facilities on state-owned or controlled land, including all boating facilities within the California State Parks system and on the State Water Project. Boating facilities at Lake Oroville, Folsom Lake, Del Valle Reservoir, San Luis Reservoir, Pyramid Lake, Castaic Lake, Perris Lake, Lake Tahoe, and other areas will be built with Cal Boating funds.

Through 2007, Cal Boating has provided $88.5 million for public access boating facilities in state parks, on lakes of the State Water Project and other state lands.

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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007