Our Founder

Our Founder: Denny Lopp

In the early 1970’s, even though cross connections and backflow were known to exist in the water industry, they were given very little importance in the Inland Northwest due to the lack of dead bodies. Given the responsibility of cross connection control for the City of Spokane Water Department, I began my education on the subject and was directed to two gentlemen in the State of Washington. I was told by many in the water industry that they were the quote, unquote, “experts” in backflow prevention. These gentlemen were Denny Lopp of Modern Electric and Water, here in Spokane and Ray Pettie from the Tacoma Water Department. From these excellent teachers, I very quickly learned how important backflow prevention is to public health, and as a water purveyor the inherent liability and financial impact which could ensue from a backflow incident.

I feel very fortunate to have had Denny Lopp as a mentor (and friend) over the years and I am sure every water district in the Inland Empire has benefited by having Mr. Lopp lead the way in founding the SRC4 and keeping it a working and viable organization. This was no easy task, but Denny kept the emphasis on the need for the group to work together and is solely responsible for almost all of the education and training that we have been privileged to receive over the years. Denny has been instrumental, if not responsible, for continuing the educational opportunities we have available in the Spokane region. Denny is recognized nationally for his expertise in the industry and the SRC4 is very fortunate to have someone like Denny to lead the way.

Frank Triplett
City of Spokane Water & Hydroelectric Services