As manager of Mecklenburg County water quality, Rusty Rozzelle was a public servant for over 40 years.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rusty Rozzelle, the longtime manager of the Mecklenburg County Water Quality Program, has died, according to Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio.
Diorio announced his passing Wednesday when she asked for a moment of silence ahead of the annual budget presentation. Diorio described his passing as unexpected.
“Rusty was a dedicated county employee for over 40 years, and his impact on this county and his community is immeasurable,” Diorio said. “He’ll be sorely missed.”
Rozzelle’s work protecting Mecklenburg County waters runs deep in his family history. The Rozzelle family first settled in the area over 200 years ago, according to Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.
Rozzelle family history
His family is the namesake of Rozzelle’s Ferry Road and honors the family’s history of running a ferry boat across the Catawba River starting in 1816. In 2024, Rusty Rozzelle spoke about his family’s history and the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department shared a photo of Richard Rozzelle operating the ferry in 1920.
Richard Rozzelle began operating the ferry in 1816, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. While the first bridge across the river was constructed in 1851, the family is credited with partially destroying the bridge to prevent Union troops from crossing into Charlotte during the Civil War.
The family operated a ferry service until 1869 when the state built a new bridge across the river.
Since 1999, the North Carolina Highway 16 bridge has been memorialized as the Rozzelle’s Ferry Bridge.
Rusty’s legacy
Rusty Rozzelle was born in Charlotte in 1956, according to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte interview conducted in 2014. Rozzelle was educated at Paw Creek Elementary School, Coulwood Junior High School, and West Mecklenburg High School. He received his BA in Earth Science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and was employed as the manager of the Mecklenburg County Water.
In that role, he oversaw laws and ordinances put in place to protect the streams and waterways.
Rozzelle was in the public eye and would often give interviews on matters related to water quality. He appeared on television numerous times discussing flooding problems, particularly how flooding is exacerbated and how it can be mitigated.
FROM 2023: EPA tackling PFAS contamination in drinking water
He last appeared on WCNC Charlotte in Dec. 2023 speaking about forever chemicals cancer-causing toxins. At the time, the Environmental Protection Agency was enacting new rules limiting the usage of those chemicals. On Wednesday, the Trump Administration announced they would be relaxing some of those Biden-era rules.
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