As part of OCWA’s monthly series highlighting some of our dedicated employees and the important jobs they perform, this month we’re featuring Brian D. from our Otisco Lake Water Treatment Plant. Each month we’re asking a different employee a series of ten questions about his/her background, what he/she does at OCWA and some of the employee’s most interesting work experiences.
1. What is your current position at OCWA?
I am a water system chemist at the Otisco Water Treatment Plant in Marcellus.
2. What other jobs have you held, both OCWA and non-OCWA positions?
I was a lab technician and meter reader both for OCWA.
3. When did you join OCWA, and what brought you here?
I joined OCWA in December of 1995. I was always interested in getting into the water field.
4. What does a typical day at work look like for you?
I start by doing morning readings – checking chlorine and fluoride levels, residual pH, and making sure chemicals are reading at the right doses. When the weather is nice, I will go out on Otisco Lake in a boat and collect water samples to analyze algae. When we receive chemical deliveries, I make sure they are offloaded safely, and tanks are getting their proper products. I also test the water for bacteria and help in the day-to-day operations of our water filtration plant.
5. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
To know that the water we are producing is a safe, reliable product and knowing that I am part of a team that produces such quality water is rewarding.
6. What has been your favorite project at OCWA?
My favorite part of my job is being able to go out on the lake and analyze the conditions of the lake for algae.
7. Before working at OCWA, what was the most interesting/unusual job you’ve ever had?
I had a pest control job working for a company. It involved traveling around handling various unexpected situations from beehives in a wall to spider infestations.
8. What three words best describe you?
Dedicated, kind, diligent
9. What is your educational background?
I went to Cayuga Community College for two years then transferred to SUNY ESF and graduated with a bachelor’s in environmental science and biology and natural resource management.
10. Why did you select the career you are in?
At ESF, I was always interested in water quality issues and thought it would be interesting to work in the public sector.