The City of Richmond has appointed Scott Morris as the permanent director of the Department of Public Utilities, officials announced Friday.

Morris, who had served as interim director since Jan. 20, accepted the role permanently on Feb. 22. His appointment follows a major water service interruption in January that left thousands of residents without clean drinking water.

“Director Morris has already shown tremendous leadership at the Department of Public Utilities,” Interim Chief Administrative Officer Sabrina Joy-Hogg said. “In the weeks following the service interruption at the Water Treatment Plant, he has run an excellent operation and implemented many of the recommendations from the preliminary after-action report.”

Before stepping into the interim role, Morris served as director of water at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and as chief deputy at the agency. He previously held leadership roles in Chesterfield County’s Utilities Department for more than a decade and worked in wastewater plant operations for the City of Richmond for four years.

“I’m proud to have him on the team, and I know the city will benefit from his leadership as we build resilience at our Water Treatment Plant,” Mayor Danny Avula said.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Morris graduated from the naval nuclear program and served aboard the USS Enterprise. He holds a doctorate in business administration from Liberty University, a master’s in information services from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a bachelor’s in applied science and technology, with a focus on nuclear engineering technology, from Thomas Edison State College. He also earned an associate degree in wastewater and technology from Mountain Empire Community College.