SYP: LAB Webinar: Navigating the Waters: A Guide to Early Careers in Water/Wastewater Lab Management - Live Webinar

As the Water Quality Manager at Irvine Ranch Water District, I manage the Water Quality Department, overseeing a team of 25 staff members, including professional scientists, lab supervisors, temporary employees, and student interns. I’m responsible for ensuring efficient operations, regulatory compliance, and high-quality environmental laboratory analyses across drinking water, wastewater, recycled water, stormwater, biosolids, and air quality. As the designated Technical Manager for our CA-ELAP certification, I handle unique or sensitive water quality concerns and maintain strong relationships with regulatory agencies and industry groups. I prepare and manage the department’s operating budget and capital projects, oversee lab equipment procurement and maintenance, and ensure compliance with all monitoring and reporting requirements. I also lead the implementation of new lab standards, manage our Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), and develop strategies to meet evolving regulatory standards.

I began my wastewater career as a temporary laboratory employee at Napa Sanitation, beforebeing hired as a Water Resources Laboratory Technician for the City of Livermore in 2004. I hold a CWEA Laboratory Analyst Grade 4 certification and worked for the City of Livermore performing various chemical, physical and bacteriological analyses until my retirement earlier this year.

Kelsi Norman, UC Davis alum with a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Environmental Toxicology. I started as a student intern at the City of Vacaville’s Water Quality Laboratory for 6 months, then transferred to the internship program for Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. During this time my primary role was to gain experience running analysis for process control purposes and preparing standards and reagents for analyst use. Currently, I work as a full time laboratory analyst for the City of Vacaville. My duties include running analysis in microbiology, like multiple tube fermentation and heterotrophic plate count, and wet chemistry, like ammonia, biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids.  Recently I have focused on revamping our data and inventory tracking system in becoming fully TNI compliant, this refers to compliance with the standards set by The NELAC Institute (TNI).

Jack Clarks is the laboratory assistant for Inland Empire Utilities Agency since 2021, starting as an intern. Jack has just crossed his first year of working full time in the industry. Jack receives samples for the laboratory, prepares kits for various sampling event and coordinates

 with different sampling groups like our Groundwater Recharge Team, our Pretreatment and Source Control Team, and our Plant Operators. I also liase between these sampling groups and any external labs that samples may need to be sent off to.

Iris Yuen, an Environmental Engineer with the CWEA San Francisco Bay Section, has been serving as Vice Chair of the Student and Young Professional (SYP) Committee since 2024. With over two years of experience in the wastewater industry, Iris has been involved in wastewater and lead service line replacement projects across California, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. Her commitment lies in bridging the gap between academic studies and professional practice, empowering the next generation of water and wastewater professionals.

Through a great working relationship with IRWD, as a student intern, Brianna was able to secure a permanent position at IRWD as a Laboratory Scientist. Transitioning from an intern to a scientist at the district, Brianna has gained new and further mastered preexisting technical skills in the lab, running biological and biochemical analyses that generate pertinent data in relation to the efficiency and cleanliness of our reclaimed water plant and potable routes, that service Irvine and surrounding cities. As a microbiologist in the lab, we get to analyze multiple water matrices through traditional multi-tube fermentation and plating techniques, microscopy, and reagent dependent techniques, like Colilert-18/24 and Enterolert. These analyses help to identify and determine the presence and bacterial density of samples. In addition, the microbiologists run biochemical tests, requiring the usage of more advanced instrumentation, that helps us determine the biochemical oxygen demand of various water samples. The data generated from these analyses allows our reclaimed water plant to assess the effectiveness of each stage of the reclaimed process. With a robust QA/QC system in place and such reputable data being produced, the microbiologists at IRWD are able to supply clients and the serviced community with reassurance that their drinking water and irrigation water are of the highest quality.

Brianna, a Laboratory Analyst, received her degree in Biotechnology in 2023 from California State San Marcos. Following her education, she worked at a private lab developing test kits used for research. With a devotion to environmental conservation and innovation, she pursued a career in the water and wastewater industry. Brianna's career path was initiated through an internship program at Inland Empire Utilities Agency in Chino, California. As a laboratory intern, she provided support in special projects and plant expansion efforts. After a year and a half, she transitioned into a full-time position with the City of Redlands. She is motivated to contribute her knowledge and efforts to the transformation of water and wastewater treatment technologies.

At City of Redlands she is responsible for reporting accurate and reliable data for the process control of water and wastewater treatment. She performs tests to assess the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water as it goes through a treatment plant.