My Profile
Claire O’Brien
Claire is passionate about improving wastewater infrastructure and partners closely with project stakeholders and teams to turn designs into reality. As a civil engineer, she brings experience in wastewater and water treatment, as well as infrastructure projects. Her work spans treatment, pipelines, pump stations, and storage facilities across nearly every phase of the project lifecycle from planning and design through construction.
As a project manager and engineer, Claire has coordinated with teams of various sizes involving civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical disciplines. Her collaborative approach and attention to detail make her a trusted partner in delivering complex projects.
Claire stays engaged with the broader industry through eight years of active volunteerism with CWEA and currently serves as President of the San Francisco Bay Section Board.
Purpose
The Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers (5S) is used by water environment associations (i.e., those working with sewage and sewage treatment) to honour those who have made a particular contribution to the industry.
Pennsylvania started the High Hat Society in 1937 and used the words "Sludge Shovelers Society" in its initiation ceremony. Later, this became known as the Ted Moses Sludge Shovelers Society. The second Chapter of the Five S Society was formed in Arizona in October 1940, the idea being conceived by A.W. "Dusty" Miller and F. Carlyle Roberts, Jr. There are chapters in many of the United States and in Canada, as well as the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
5S chapters do not accept applications, but select potential members. Each inductee receives a badge in the form of a gold tie bar in the shape of a round-nosed shovel.
5S recognizes individuals active in protecting the water environment through participation in Local, State, and/or Federal sponsored activities for five years or more.