October 2019 – Water News
- Posted
Message from the Board President
During Water Professionals Appreciation Week, Yorba Linda Water District (YLWD) will share highlights of different water careers on the District’s social media networks. Water Professionals Appreciation Week was established in 2017 by Senate Concurrent Resolution 80, by Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) as an effort to showcase the importance of water professionals in California.
YLWD employs 81 people with specialized water expertise. As part of their employment, our water professionals are required to continue their education through training seminars, certificate programs, and higher education. The District offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in engineering, finance, business administration, law, communications, water operations, and maintenance. With ongoing support, the District will train and educate the next generation of water professionals.
Brooke Jones, Board President
Message from the General Manager
In California, the week of October 5-13 is designated as “Water Professionals Appreciation Week.” This annual recognition starts on the first Saturday of October and ends on the Sunday of the following weekend each year. You likely do not know this or have it marked on your calendar. Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Water and wastewater workers are victims of their own success. We do our job with such reliability our customers hardly know we exist. Those of you from the boomer generation remember advertisements like the Maytag Repairman being the loneliest person in town. You would think our workers were lonely, but in fact maintain more than a billion dollars’ worth of infrastructure day in and out, most of which is buried underground.
YLWD strives for reliability, but have you considered a day without water or wastewater service? You use the toilet and there is no water to flush away the waste. You then turn the faucet handle and no water comes out. That morning wakeup shower has to wait.
Perhaps your situation is direr. Imagine the local hospital has no water to sterilize instruments needed for surgery or to scrub hands and wash linens, or even run the evaporative cooling system. For that matter, their toilets won’t work to flush away diseased waste. Sanitation depends upon water. What would fire protection look like without water?
Practically everything in life relies upon the availability of clean water, from the human body to industrial, commercial, and agricultural uses. The environment would be a moonscape without the presence of water.
Luckily, a day without water rarely occurs due to the 24/7/365 work of your water and wastewater professionals at the Yorba Linda Water District. If you see our employees in the community performing preventive maintenance or repairs, do not be afraid to thank them for their service if you are inclined. We do not want them to be the loneliest people in town, especially during Water Professionals Appreciation Week. Thank you for taking the time to stay informed, and for your support!
Marc Marcantonio, General Manager
Letter from the Director of Public Affairs
In September of 2017, Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR 80) established “Water Professionals Appreciation Week”. This piece of legislation was supported by many organizations in the water community. Their goal was simple: to bring a better understanding and appreciation for the important role that water agencies and water operators play in ensuring safe and reliable water, wastewater and recycled water are delivered to the community. This dedicated group of professionals, who are often forgotten, ensures that water is flowing safely to us 24/7.
This year during Water Professionals Appreciation Week, the Yorba Linda Water District will host Mayor of Yorba Linda, Tara Campbell, and the Fall 2019 Young Civic Leaders. During their visit, these students, who hail from around the community, will have the chance to tour parts of our 1 billion dollar infrastructure. They will also have the opportunity to listen to and have their questions answered by our engineers, management, and members of our Board of Directors. This visit will give the students a “hands-on experience” of the work that takes place at the Yorba Linda Water District.
Meet Jeff McDonald
Yorba Linda Water District has over $1 billion of assessed infrastructure and it takes a team of highly-trained individuals to maintain it. Jeff McDonald, Maintenance Superintendent, oversees four work crews: hydrant, valve, leak, and collections crews. These crews ensure that the District runs like a well-oiled machine.
Jeff started at Yorba Linda Water District in November 1984 as a Maintenance Worker III. Eventually, Jeff was promoted to crew leader for the Leaks Division. Being a crew leader allowed Jeff the opportunity to mentor and train the next generation of water maintenance professionals for the District.
Now as the Maintenance Superintendent, Jeff enjoys supervising the distinct’s four maintenance crews. As technology improves, the need for trained and skilled workers increases. Jeff works proactively with his team to provide all the resources and tools to support his staff and works to ensure that YLWD continues to deliver safe and reliable drinking water.
Message from Customer Service
Yorba Linda Water District will be launching a new online bill pay system this November featuring more options for payment:
- Web Payments
- Paperless Option
- Automatic Payments
- Mobile Payments
- Pay By Text
- Interactive Voice Response Payments
- Bill Payment Reminders
Meet Our Highly Trained Staff
Upcoming Events
Board of Director Meetings are held every other Tuesday evening at the District’s office located at:
1717 E. Miraloma Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870
Meeting agendas are available 72 hours before each meeting.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 6:30 PM
Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 6:30 PM