We are saddened to hear the news of Warren Liebold’s passing on August 20th. Warren was a colleague, friend, and mentor to all of us at Ashokan. Nothing happened in the field of water conservation without his involvement. We first met when I was working for HPD and Warren was brought on by then DEP Commissioner Al Appleton to promote a new DEP rebate program. I assumed it would go nowhere. A year later it grew into the largest water conservation program in the United States, and as a result, water consumption plummeted in NYC. He realized that greater reductions could be obtained by holding property owners responsible for their consumption, and rolled NYC’s water meter installation program. He then decided to provide consumers with transparency tools to monitor consumption and created New York’s Automatic Meter reading Program. Due to his perseverance, everything he did was a great success.
In 1997, I discussed opening a water services company with him and he recommended that I name it “Ashokan”.
For twenty years, we discuss food and film, but I was awed by Warren’s encyclopedic knowledge of water conservation. Everyone in the industry knew that if you attended a water conservation seminar, Warren would be speaking and announcing a new program. No building code relating to water took place without Warren. We worked together on NYC’s Adoption of the International Plumbing Code, The Mayor’s Green Code Task Force, Water Reuse guidelines, etc. If you live in NYC and take the water for granted, you owe a debt of gratitude to Warren Liebold. He will be missed.
Water Watch NYC 
September 5, 2020 at 5:09 pm
Warren and I worked on many different projects together. He was always a champion for the citizens of New York City
December 16, 2020 at 9:56 am
I met Warren as a Cub Scout as his mom was a den mother, along with Frankie Lanza’s mom. ( Warren’s mom, his dad and younger sister were all very nice to me. ) We progressed to the Boy Scouts and Explorers, having participated in numerous camp outs and hikes. We bunked together for two weeks at Onteora Scout camp in Sullivan County, NY one summer.
As cub scouts our mothers drove us to and from meetings, though we walked as a group for scout meetings at the neighborhood school, in part due to our misperception that the local Sea Scouts, who also met at school and, who hailed from an alien neighborhood constituted a threat to our safety. That a few sported pompadours had us labeling them “the Hoods”.
I may still have a photo of us prepubescent scouties lined up shoulder to shoulder, pocket knives brandished, snarling and acting all tough.
Our Explorer group was associated with LIU, where the emphasis was on Oceanography, and access to the Lukeo (sp), the college’s masted research vessel. Warren was fascinated with this aspect though my interests favored being in the woods, on terra firma.
The scouting program was the glue that held together a bunch of lads from different homes, different sub neighborhoods. Once we left scouting some of us drifted away, and found new circles through our respective college pursuits.
Our homes were about 7 houses apart, he on Friends Lane and me on Harmony and so, we spent a fair amount of time together outside of the scouting program, getting into various adventures. But, college sent us in different life directions.
Why we never reconnected is a mystery to me….
Warren I’ll remember for his wry sense of humor, his passion (we did get into a few spats), his distinctive head down, arms swinging walking gait and his olive green Schwinn bicycle, with wire baskets over the rear wheels.
And for other niceties, which do not at present come to mind.
Pete
January 18, 2021 at 5:56 pm
Thanks for your comments.