James George Giannopoulos

1946 – 2016. James was born and grew up in Fresno where he was the first child of George Giannopoulos and Deena Pitson Giannopoulos. He graduated from UC Berkeley in Civil Engineering in 1968 and received a Master of Science in Sanitary Engineering in 1970.

James worked 42 years for the State Water Resources Control Board, first in Oakland and then in Sacramento. He dedicated himself to environmental protection and the welfare of Californians through programs such as the Underground Storage Tank Program, GeoTracker, and Site Cleanup. For example, he was the leader in getting the water pollutant MtBE taken out of gasoline in California. When he retired in 2012, he was a principal engineer and the Assistant Deputy Director, Division of Water Quality.

In 2000, James was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma which he fought successfully for 16 years. He died peacefully at home on Friday, August 26, 2016.

James is survived by his wife of 48 years, Carole Brow, his mother Deena Howe, brother John Giannopoulos, sister Christine Connelly, Aunt Sue Toll, and many cousins in California and Colorado.

We all miss his love, wit and loyalty. James was an outstanding engineer, leader, communicator, mentor, public servant and friend who changed lives for the better.  He always knew what to do and the most effective way to do it. James stood for what was right and never wavered in his defense of strong environmental public policy.  Friends and family are invited to Share Memories of James.