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Mary Maciel learns good safety practices as part of her summer internship with the Fallbrook Public Utility District. Photo: FPUD Water industry career opportunities

Fallbrook High School Summer Intern Learns About Water Industry Career Opportunities

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The Fallbrook Public Utility District’s intern program is designed to prepare potential future employees to fill jobs that open up due to the ‘silver tsunami’ or wave of retirements in the water industry.

Mary Maciel, a junior at Fallbrook High, is Fallbrook Public Utility District’s second paid summer intern. She spends four hours a day each Wednesday working with each department including public affairs, customer service, engineering, construction and maintenance, engineering, water and wastewater operations, and meter reading.

The goal of the internship is to increase interest in FPUD and potentially draw local talent to the district. It is designed to identify career opportunities in the water industry and provide a hands-on learning experience leading to a career with the Fallbrook agency.

Aaron Cook, the district’s senior engineer, was born in De Luz and lived in the area until he went to college. He started his career after college in other cities, but wanted to come back home. He applied for his current  job as soon as he saw the opening. He has been at FPUD for nearly a year.

“It’s definitely an attractive place to work for raising a family,” Cook said.

In the next five to 10 years, FPUD expects a substantial number of employees to retire. And with retirements come job openings.

Growth trend in water industry career opportunities

Student intern Mary Maciel job shadows FPUD Utility Technician II Toby Stoneburner during her summer internship with the Fallbrook Public Utility District. Photo: FPUD Water industry career opportunities

Student intern Mary Maciel job shadows FPUD Utility Technician II Toby Stoneburner during her summer internship. Photo: Fallbrook Public Utility District

Maciel says she could see herself working in the water industry in the future.

There are currently 12 FPUD employees eligible for retirement, which is about 18 percent of the district’s workforce. As previously reported on Water News Network, it is an ongoing concern for the agency.

“These are good-paying jobs with good benefits, but you just don’t find a lot of people coming out of school who are interested, and we are struggling to attract skilled employees from the private sector,” said Jack Bebee, Fallbrook PUD general manager.

‘Silver Tsunami’ in water industry

Water News Network reports career opportunities are ample due to an imminent glut of retirements by an aging workforce. Forecasts call for between 1,200 and 1,500 open positions in the next three to four years in San Diego County alone, said Sandy Kerl, the San Diego County Water Authority’s acting general manager.

Forty percent of employees at the Padre Dam Municipal Water District will retire within the next three to five years, said Lisa Sorce, human resources director. Representatives from other utilities presented similar numbers.

READ MORE: Aging Water Workfore Spurs Industry Recruiting Efforts

 

Valley Democrats Declare War On Invasive Swamp Rats

/in , /by /GV Wire

Rep. Josh Harder of Turlock put on waders and traipsed through the water in search of swamp rats recently.

The goal: Publicizing a bill that he and three other California Democrats have introduced targeting nutria, an invasive species from South America creating havoc with irrigation canals and levees.

“It sounds ridiculous, but these swamp rats are actually a major problem for our water infrastructure,” Harder said in a news release. “My bill would revive a program that helped successfully get rid of the pests in Maryland and bring millions of dollars in federal help to the Central Valley.”

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Helix Water District Rates To Climb

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union- Tribune by Karen Pearlman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Nearly 275,000 customers in the Helix Water District area of East County will be looking at a small increase in their water rates starting in the fall. The average domestic customer using 21 units per bimonthly billing period will see a 2.9 percent increase — or $4.59. Average water users paying $156.35 every two months will see their bills grow to $160.94 every two months.

Twenty-one units of water is equal to about 15,708 gallons of water every two months, where one unit is equal to 748 gallons.

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Water Recycling Most Sustainable Method Of Conserving Water – Experts

/in , /by /Joy News ( Ghana )

Experts have touted water recycling as the most sustainable method of conserving water.

According to Patricia Sinicropi who is Executive Director of the Water Reuse Association in the USA, water recycling technologies are becoming more sophisticated with every passing day, making it easy for it to be scaled out.

“The most important benefit of recycled water is that it’s a reliable and sustainable source. It’s not an imported source of water. You can control it. You know what is in it at all times,” she said.

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California Health: Cal Water Working On New Regulation to Keep Water Flowing When Power Goes Off

/in , /by / 23 ABC Newsby Scott Sheahen

Water. It’s a vital part of life. And it’s the California Water Service ‘ s, or Cal Water, job to make sure most of Bakersfield and parts of Kern County have clean safe water.

Kevin McCusker is a community affairs spokesman for Cal Water. He said, “From the meter box at the point of connection at their residence then it goes into their house where it’s used for any number of things. From indoor use, so they might use it for drinking and bathing and for outdoor use irrigation.”

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Water Resilience In Cape Town

/in , , /by /Imperial Valley Newsby Karen Ross

Cape Town, South Africa – At the height of the drought (April 2018) in this amazing city, residents were restricted to 50 liters (13 gallons) of water per person, per day, and that allowed Cape Town and the Western Cape province to avert an unprecedented catastrophe, Day Zero, the day this city of four-million residents could have run out of water.

The threat made conservation the new normal, resulting in practices like hotel showers with minute timers, closed water taps in public places, and informational slogans/campaigns throughout the city.

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Farmers Use Tech To Squeeze Every Drop From Colorado River

/in , , /by /AP by Dan Elliot

A drone soared over a blazing hot cornfield in northeastern Colorado on a recent morning, snapping images with an infrared camera to help researchers decide how much water they would give the crops the next day.

After a brief, snaking flight above the field, the drone landed and the researchers removed a handful of memory cards. Back at their computers, they analyzed the images for signs the corn was stressed from a lack of water.

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As Phoenix Heats Up, The Night Comes Alive

/in , /by /The New York Timesby Marguerite Holloway

Dozens of hikers set out for the summit of Piestewa Peak on a July evening, their flashlights dancing in the dark. “You feeling O.K.?” Trevor Plautz, a park ranger, asked two women, one of whom had stumbled and was breathing hard. “You have enough water?” Both soon turned back, moving slowly down unlit rocky switchbacks. An owl chittered. “You definitely feel the heat, but the nights are better,” Mr. Plautz said. “A lot of people hike right now instead of during the day because it is a lot cooler.” Phoenix, which had 128 days at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit last year, is one of the hottest and fastest-warming cities in the United States.

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SGMA Rollout Coming Along Smoothly

/in , /by /AgNet West Radio Networkby Brian German

The implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) has presented some challenges, however it appears the overall process is progressing smoothly overall. Supervising Engineering Geologist with the Department of Water Resources (Department), Steven Springhorn noted that the stakeholders have been diligent in adhering to the timeline established by the regulation. “In general, the status of SGMA is going well,” said Springhorn. “That was really shown by the first major milestone, the GSA formation deadline. Roughly 99 percent of the area that had to be covered, was covered. So that just built a lot of momentum.”

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Notable Sonoma County Wine Executive’s Vineyard Business Firm Accused Of Water Quality Violations

/in , /by /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.)by Bill Swindell

Prominent Sonoma County wine executive Hugh Reimers, who last month abruptly left as president of Foley Family Wines, faces allegations that his grape growing company has violated regional, state and federal water quality laws for improperly clearing land near Cloverdale to build a vineyard. The North Coast Regional Water Quality Board accused his Santa Rosa vineyard management company, Krasilsa Pacific Farms, of violations of the water board’s local water rules, the California Water Code and the federal Clean Water Act for clearing and grading 140 acres. The water quality board concluded the work on a section of Krasilsa Pacific’s more than 2,000-acre property was done without applying or obtaining the necessary permits required by the county to operate a vineyard.

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