Our Industry Person of the Week is Robert Macias, water / wastewater operator who works with Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. engineering firm. Here is what he had to share!
“I started working at the City of San Antonio in the Leon Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant back in 1983 making $5.01/hour. At that time, it was great pay! (::laughs::) My title was ‘Sewage Plant Attendant’. It sounds like I was involved with valet parking! Before working in that position, I thought when you flushed your toilet, it just eventually went into the ocean. It was a real education about what really happens downstream!
The favorite part of my job is meeting other people in the water & wastewater business; sharing my experiences as well as learning from them. I am most proud of being involved in the Aquifer Storage & Recovery facility and the Brackish Water Desalination Reverse Osmosis facility. Both are located right next to each other in San Antonio, Texas.
I tell all the young people, “If you want to ensure that you always have a good job, then stay in the water & wastewater business! It does not matter how the economy is doing or who is the POTUS, there is always a need for water & wastewater treatment. Learn as much as you can. Be as diverse as possible, it will make you more valuable. It is tough to get work if you are a “specialist” in a narrow field.”
For the past year, I have worked for Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. visiting over 50 cities all over Texas. Most recently, I helped the City of Sanger, Texas, startup a new Waste Water Treatment Plant that we designed for them. Seeing the clear effluent going out of the facility is the greatest feeling in the world (photo above!).
Not too many engineering companies hire water/wastewater operators, but my firm is unique and offers outstanding service to our clients. My decades of experience on the “user side” gives precious insight into designing and implementing a successful project.”
Thank you, Robert, for being our Industry Person of the Week! We look forward to keeping up with you through the #PumpTalk Community!
Know an Amazing Person who is making valuable contributions within the Pump Industry? Nominate them to be “Pump Person of the Week”!
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