Keeping the Bay clean.
Thanks to Joe, EBMUD is once again offering education-packed wastewater treatment tours.
Joe is an assistant wastewater shift supervisor at EBMUD’s Wastewater Treatment Plant below the MacArthur Maze. He oversees work to help protect our San Francisco Bay by cleaning wastewater before it is discharged into the Bay. After nearly 9 years with EBMUD, he says nothing could tempt him away from the work he does here.
“I was working in the engineering department at a major company that makes engines for airplanes, but I was producing paper and computer files all day,” Joe said. “The biggest thing that was different when I got here was getting dirty on a daily basis. I like working with my hands. For someone with my education level and skill set, this is a dream job — I feel like I won the lottery.”
Joe began his employment as a treatment plant operator and worked his way up to his current position. He recently re-launched EBMUD’s Wastewater Treatment Plant tours, which had been dormant for years.
“This place is where you can build a career, the kind of place where you can plan to be for decades. It’s not just another job in a series of jobs. I think the workload is reasonable, the job duties are well-defined and the supervisors set clear, reasonable expectation. I really enjoy that.”