City of Riverside at the County of Riverside’s Public Works Heavy Equipment Rodeo
Although Jacob Zeigler is officially a Mechanical Maintenance Scheduler for the City of Riverside’s Public Works Sewer Division, his daily tasks can vary widely. With over a decade of private-sector experience and another decade working up through the ranks in the city, he has developed substantial expertise in his field.
“I’m kind of like a hybrid class,” he explains. “Technically, my job is an office-focused position, but I find that when help is needed, I can fill just about any position required for my team.”
Zeigler began his career with a private engineering company that focused on providing solutions for specialized, difficult, and high-volume cleaning and CCTV inspection tasks for municipalities, cities, districts, and private industries throughout California. When he decided to transition to the public sector, he learned that he needed a CWEA certification to move forward. Securing a position with the City of Riverside meant starting over from the beginning, despite his prior experience, and he was hired as a Tech I.
“My experience made it possible for me to go from Grade 1 through Grade 4 in less than two years,” he said. “With my Grade 4, I was able to move to the Mechanical Maintenance Scheduler position.”
He has his NASSCO Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP™), Lateral Assessment Certification Program (LACP™), and Manhole Assessment Certification Program (MACP™). He was cross-trained in the California Integrated Water Quality System (CIWQS) data submission process with the City’s in-house compliance team and now handles entering SSO reports for the City of Riverside.
For his Wastewater Mechanical Maintenance Scheduler position, Zeigler plans, schedules, and coordinates major projects, routine maintenance, and repair activities for the City’s wastewater collection systems. He uses the City’s CMMS and GIS systems to manage preventive and corrective maintenance, maintain accurate history, and track work orders.
Zeigler acts as a key liaison within the Collections section, working with other City departments, internal divisions, and outside agencies and contractors to ensure work is completed safely and efficiently. He also supports purchasing, assists with budget development, and contributes to long‑range maintenance and asset management planning.
During periods of short-staffing, Zeigler steps up to lead and mentor the city’s CCTV technicians.
“In times of emergency, Jacob has jumped in to help the team after hours as well,” said Kaylie Regalado, City of Riverside’s Wastewater Resources Analyst. “Ultimately, smooth day-to-day operations for the City of Riverside’s Collections team all start with Jacob.”
Regalado went on to say that the team often refers to Zeigler as the “brains behind the operation” and is responsible for coordinating the section’s daily workload from start to finish.
Among his most notable contributions to his department in the past couple of years has been the overhaul of the field crew workflows. Zeigler redesigned the structure and delivery of work orders, resulting in a time savings of over 30 minutes per crew per day. Additionally, he is leading a project that leverages his extensive CCTV background to reduce the District’s high-frequency cleaning workload.
“By inspecting segments before each cleaning cycle, we assess whether cleaning is truly necessary. Over time, we analyze the CCTV data to determine optimal cleaning schedules. This approach has already eliminated more than 50% of our high-frequency workload, allowing those segments to transition into the regular cleaning cycle,” he said.
Zeigler said that his project reviewing the department’s High-Frequency Cleaning Program has come full circle, tentatively allowing approximately 49% (16.24 miles) of wastewater mainline segments to return to the standard two-year cleaning cycle. This change frees up to two weeks per month for a standard cleaning crew.
This past May, Zeigler also helped promote the City of Riverside at the County of Riverside’s Public Works Heavy Equipment Rodeo by setting up equipment demonstrations and assisting with a public outreach booth alongside other departments.
Recently, Zeigler was honored by the Mayor of Riverside as part of the “Unsung Hero Recognition Program.” The award recognizes exceptional employees for their dedication, strong work ethic, and positive attitude. Zeigler was selected by his teammates in the Public Works Department.
In addition, he was awarded the CWEA Santa Ana River Basin Section (SARBS) Collection System Person of the Year — Gold for 2025, as well as the CWEA statewide Collection System Person of the Year — Silver award for 2025.
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