Wally’s Water Wisdom- Celebrating IEUA’s Engineers

Hi friends! The new year is passing quickly! Can you believe we’ve already made it halfway through February? This week is also significant because it is Engineers Week! Engineers are at the forefront of some of the most integral projects to better care for our region. For today’s blog post, I’ve enlisted the help of some of IEUA’s engineers. Let’s learn a little bit more about the work that they do. 

First, let’s check in with Adham Almasri, one of IEUA’s Principal Engineers.

“As a Principal Engineer, I oversee half of IEUA’s Capital Improvement Program, which equates to around $200 million. I supervise three engineering teams. Each team has three to four engineers, including the lead Senior Engineer/ Senior Project Manager. I also oversee a total of 5 construction inspectors. I am part of what’s called the Project Management Office (PMO) and heavily participate in long range planning for the Engineering and Construction Management department. This includes project planning, allocating resources, managing staff, overseeing the budget, and conducting training. I am also involved with each of the teams’ projects and counted on as the prime responsible for quality control and quality assurance.

Finally, I am also responsible for optimizing the partnership relationship with design consultant and collaborate relationship with the internal clients (including but not limited to the Operations and Maintenance).”

Next, let’s hear from Victoria Salazar, IEUA’s Associate Engineer.

“One of the projects I am working on is the RP-1 Aeration Basin Membrane Replacement. For this project, we are replacing over 800 aeration membranes in the RP-1 aeration basins. In this part of the wastewater treatment process, bacteria decompose the ammonia and other contaminants found in the wastewater through a metabolic process that requires oxygen. The new membranes are expected to improve the rate of oxygen transfer and the overall efficiency of the aeration process, helping reduce operational cost and improving reliability.”

You can learn more about Victoria’s role as an Associate Engineer by checking out her Day in the Life video on our YouTube channel!

Finally, let’s check in with Megan Trott, another one of IEUA’s Associate Engineers.

“The Preserve Lift Station was constructed in 2017 to pump wastewater from a new residential tract of homes to the existing Chino Interceptor Sewer at Kimball Avenue in Chino, CA. The facility is owned by the City of Chino and operated and maintained by IEUA under a contract with the City. The lift station currently consists of two submersible pumps operated through Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), and the facility is designed to consist of four pumps at full buildout over the next 20 years. This project will install a third pump and VFD as flow rates begin to increase with residential development in the area. IEUA’s goal is to have increased capacity, increased redundancy reliability, and reduced rag build-up.”

You can learn more about the projects these engineers are involved in by visiting IEUA’s social media channels @IEUAwater.

That’s all I have for today, friends! I’ll see you all soon with my next drop of water wisdom!

Your friend,

Wally