Todd Groundwater Mourns the Passing of Phyllis Stanin,
Principal Geologist and Vice President

It is with profound sadness that Todd Groundwater announces that Phyllis Stanin, retired Vice President and Principal Hydrogeologist of Todd Groundwater, passed away on January 1, 2025. She was dedicated to wise management of groundwater resources based on science, practicalities, and community collaboration. She was widely recognized for her outstanding capabilities as a hydrogeologist and her farsighted service for her many clients. She is fondly remembered for her seemingly boundless energy and optimism. Over the years, Phyllis was acknowledged with well-earned high praise-and her reaction invariably was gratitude for her colleagues and clients.

Phyllis was our colleague at Todd Groundwater since 1990 and became a leader of our firm, rising to Principal Hydrogeologist, Vice President, and member of our Board of Directors. She leaves a bright legacy not only of technical excellence and service to clients, but also of leadership, mentoring, collaboration among colleagues within our firm, and dedication to the continuance of our firm as an employee-owned team of professionals dedicated to groundwater.

Phyllis received her B.S. degree in Geology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978 and later, in 1999, earned an M.S. in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco with original investigation of the effects on groundwater flow of faulting in Livermore-Amador Valley. She began her career as a professional geologist working for ten years in the oil industry in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and San Ramon, California. In 1990, Phyllis and her husband, Fred Stanin, together made a bold career leap from oil geology to hydrogeology. Phyllis joined Todd Groundwater in the Bay Area and stayed for the next 33 years.

Her first major assignment involved hydrogeologic characterization and monitoring for a landfill in central San Gabriel Valley, where she soon perceived the substantial and fascinating effects on groundwater levels and flow of local managed aquifer recharge. With the encouragement of David Todd, Phyllis was soon engaged in groundwater basin management projects across California and into Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii. Her experience expanded to groundwater basin characterization and monitoring, application of numerical modeling, and groundwater basin management, long before California's game-changing Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014. With SGMA, Phyllis' expertise and positive energy enabled her to engage with multiple clients across a variety of groundwater basins. No basins or challenges were too big for Phyllis to tackle!

Her professional experience continually increased to encompass groundwater issues as disparate as mine dewatering, contaminant fate and transport, and deep injection wells for disposal. She provided expert witness services on multiple cases. In all her projects-whatever the issue-she was steadfast in her dedication to sustainable, good quality groundwater supplies for all users and uses. This dedication extended to active participation in professional organizations including the American Society of Civil Engineers standards committee for Managed Aquifer Recharge, the Association of California Water Agencies, Groundwater Resources Association, and WateReuse Association. Phyllis understood the importance of clear communication, and her reports and presentations were crafted to be engaging and lasting.

Phyllis is survived by her husband Fred Stanin, and her brother, Joseph Sherrill of Hickory, North Carolina. A Celebration of Life service will be held on May 2, 2025. Those interested in attending should contact Fred Stanin by email (ftstanin@gmail.com) to receive an invitation. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests that a donation be made to The UCSF Brain Tumor Center by visiting https://braintumorcenter.ucsf.edu/ways-to-donate. There are multiple options available for donations. To speak with someone directly about a gift, contact Erica Hipp at (415) 476-0506 and erica.hipp@ucsf.edu.

Iris Priestaf, January 10, 2025