Collection Systems Committee

The Collection Systems Committee is comprised of volunteers from local agencies/districts that hold meetings and or workshops to share training related to the wastewater collection systems maintenance, design, operations and inform attendees of Federal, State and Local regulations.

The committee’s monthly meetings focus on items related to day-to-day operations, critique of past training classes, plan future classes, provide support and share information to members, and discuss Federal, State and Local regulations.

Committee Chair:

Louis Solana – Ironhouse Sanitary District
[email protected]

Committee Vice Chair:

Manuel Del Toro – Union Sanitary District

[email protected]

Treasurer:

Cleveland Porter
[email protected]

SFBS Board Liason: Tyree Jackson

Committee Members:
Albert Hightower Jr (Oakland)
Alex Benavidez (CCCSD)
Andy Dobbs (ServiceMaster)
Christopher Brown (Oro Loma)
Cleveland Porter (Antioch)
David O’Donnell (San Leandro)
Dennis Wright (Stege)
Emanuel Rios (Alameda)
Jeff Cook (Antioch)
Joel Ramos (San Leandro)
Josh Graves (Livermore)
Kevin Dip (Castro Valley)
Kevin Widmer (MME)
Lani Good (Black & Veatch)
Lars Stenstedt (V&A Consulting)
Leighton White (WECO)
Louis Solana (ISD)
Manuel Del Toro (USD)
Mark D’Ambra (Oakland)
Mark McGrath (Hayward)
Michelle Beason (National Plant Services)
Mike Wells (Livermore)
Patricia DeRouen (Self)
Paul Louis (Louis Consulting)
Paul Seitz (CCCSD)
Rex Adams (RD Kincaide)
Rick Horne (Burlingame)
Tifton Gant (CCCSD)
Tyree Jackson (Oakland)

Vendors:
R D Kincaide Inc
MME
ServiceMaster Restoration Services
WECO Industries

Communication Committee

The Communications Committee is responsible for fostering effective and timely communications with SF Bay Section membership and with the public.

Methods of Communication include:

• This website: https://www.cwea.org/sfbs
• Twitter handle @CWEASFBS
• Facebook page CWEA San Francisco Bay Section
• Constant Contact Email Newsletters

These four entities are maintained by the Communications Committee. For more information, contact the Committee Chair, Nick Hansen.

Communications Chair:

Nick Hansen
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CentralSan)
Wastewater Operator Grade V
[email protected] or [email protected]

Member:
Roni Gehlke
R&G Promotions and Outreach
Environmental Outreach/Public Relations
Phone: (925) 625-7924
[email protected]

SFBS 2023 Golf Tournament 

Date: Friday, September 22, 2023

Event Start Time: 7:30 AM

Venue:
Franklin Canyon Golf Course
Highway 4
Hercules, CA 94547

Registration Link: here | CWEA.org

Description:

Competition will be in the format of a four-player scramble with a 8am shotgun start. Teams will be formed by the Tournament Organizer unless you sign up as a foursome. Reservations MUST be pre-paid using the entry form below. The entry fee is $90 per SFBS CWEA Member and $120 per non-member, and $65 for student. All entries include green fee, drink ticket, a shared cart, a bucket of balls, entry for door prizes, lunch, and entrance to networking mixer. Payment must be received no later than September 15th.

All sponsorships provide an excellent opportunity to promote your company to water and wastewater professionals while supporting the Kirt Brooks Memorial Water Environment Scholarship. As an alternative, you may donate a prize to be awarded at the networking event following the tournament. We are also asking for tee prizes or SWAG items to hand out to all players. We do have a 501 (c)(3) designation. We will provide a letter for you if requested.

Single Player SFBS CWEA Member ($90)
Single Player Non-CWEA Member ($120)
Single Player Student ($65)

Hole Sponsor + 1 Player ($300)
Hole Sponsor w/ foursome ($625)
Tent Sponsor +1 Player ($500)
Tent Sponsor w/ foursome ($825)

Entries MUST be received by September 15th

Event Contact Info:
Nick Steiner
(925) 260-5071
[email protected]

Laboratory Committee

The Laboratory Committee provides training seminars, networking opportunities and recognition for laboratory professionals from public agencies and private laboratories. For more information, please contact:

Co-Chair: Blake Brown, CentralSan
Email: [email protected]

Blake Brown is the Laboratory Program Administrator at Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. She has 6 years of wastewater experience and 13 years of laboratory experience. She holds a CWEA Laboratory Analyst Grade 4 certificate.

Committee Co-Chair: Heidi Birdsell, Dublin San Ramon Services District
Email: [email protected]

Heidi Birdsell is the Senior Quality Assurance Chemist at Dublin San Ramon Services District. She has 7 years of wastewater experience and holds a CWEA Laboratory Analyst Grade 4 certificate.

Operations and Maintenance Committee

The Operation and Maintenance Committee organizes periodic meetings which are tours of Bay Area treatment plants. The committee’s purpose is to stimulate interest in the wastewater industry and foster communications between operations and maintenance personnel (including electrical and instrumentation technicians).

For more information on the O&M committee and how to get involved, contact the O&M Committee Chair, JJ Jeffries [email protected]

Committee Members:

James Wickstrom [email protected]
Nick Chavez [email protected]
Gonzalez, Joaquin [email protected]
Jim Petalio [email protected]
[email protected]
Adrian Vazquez [email protected]
Bloomfield, Dustin [email protected]
Michael McKinney’ [email protected]
Shawn Redmond [email protected]

Professional Development Committee

About the Professional Development Committee (PDC)
The PDC organizes local educational and training sessions and seminars for people in all wastewater and environmental related disciplines.

Mission Statement
“To provide quality training opportunities to wastewater industry and related environmental professionals in the San Francisco Bay area, enhance job quality, and develop a higher level of professionalism in the wastewater field.”

Monthly Meetings

The PDC always extends a warm invitation to guests and new members. We meet on the third Tuesday of each month, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on Teams. For more information, please contact the Committee Chair or any of the others PDC members listed below:

Chair: Celia Kitchell
Company: Delta Diablo
Email: [email protected]

General Inquiries: [email protected]
Board Liaison:

Sign up for future PDC Emails here

Safety Committee

Mission: To establish an institution for the sharing of knowledge and information as it applies to safety in the workplace, and to promote safe work practices to wastewater treatment professionals in the San Francisco Bay area.

Membership: Out committee is comprised of individuals representing treatment plants, consultant groups, government agencies, and vendors. The committee strives to maintain that diversity and always welcomes new members. There is no cost for membership! Feel free to contact one of our officers below for more information.

Meetings: We meet monthly on the 2nd Tuesday at each month. The location moves as various agencies volunteer to host the meeting. At our meetings, we discuss the latest legislation, local training and partnering opportunities, and safety concerns.

Training: Training is a vital component of a good safety program. Training partnerships and networking is a core function of the committee. Through strategic partnering, we have been able to negotiate competitive pricing and offer more local opportunities for training to CWEA members, specific to our industry.

Chairperson
Stephanie Ortiz
Safety & Special Programs Administrator
Oro Loma Sanitary District
[email protected]
510.276.4700

Vice Chairperson

Todd Ravazza
Safety Manager
Delta Diablo Sanitary District
[email protected]
(925) 756-1900

Director

Secretary/Treasurer (Interim)

Activities Coordinator

Past Chairperson

Students and Young Professionals Committee

The Students and Young Professionals Committee organizes tours, networking and educational events for students and young professionals in the water/wastewater industry. A young professional (YP) is any CWEA member or prospective member that is relatively new to the water/wastewater industry (i.e., under 35 years of age or less than 10 years of experience). YPs can be students, operators, laboratory analysts, maintenance staff, engineers, regulatory compliance staff, or anything in between!

BUILD YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS! Learn to lead meetings, build teams, set and achieve goals, engage volunteers, influence others, and speak in public in a safe environment surrounded by your peers.

EXPAND YOUR PROFESSIONAL NETWORK! Establish contacts and working relationships with operations and maintenance professionals, laboratory professionals, engineers, equipment vendors, students, and academia. Establish mentoring relationships and create a community for exchanging technical information and solving problems.

GET CWEA SUPPORT! As a student or YP member of CWEA, you’re eligible to receive scholarships, technical training, presentation opportunities, reduced membership and conference fees, and much, much more!

The 2022-2023 Students and Young Professionals Committee nomination period is officially open! There are four exciting positions open for nominations. Please read the responsibilities associated with each role and email us with any questions. The deadline to apply is August 26th.

Vice Chair (2 years) – In your first year as Vice Chair, you’ll take an active role assisting the Chair and SYP Committee with planning events and participating in committee meetings. The following year, you’ll become the Chair and get to lead the committee.

University Liaison (1 year) – In this role, you’ll coordinate with Bay Area universities and student groups to promote CWEA and SYP events.

Social Media Coordinator (1 year) – In this role, you’ll use our platforms to share events, post photos, and interact with the water/environmental community. We currently have Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook. This position could be shared by multiple people.

General Committee Member (1 year) – As a general committee member, you will help the SYP Committee to plan and facilitate events by assisting where needed. This is a great position for new members and previously committee members who still want to be involved.

LINK TO APPLY: SYP Committee Roles – CWEA SFBS (google.com)

For more information about how to get involved with the committee, email us!

2022/2023 SYP Committee

Co-Chair – Max Armenta Maxwell Armenta has been working in the Bay Area as a wastewater engineer-in-training for about two years. He is passionate about environmental engineering and education, so the position of University Liaison is a natural fit. Max was very involved as an undergraduate in his student American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) organization, where he was first exposed to the importance of connecting students to working professionals in order to facilitate growth within our industry. He is passionate about donating time and resources to help out students, and has been involved with ASCE this past year as the Philanthropy Chair to coordinate lesson plans for K-12 students. He is looking forward to using his experience to help facilitate CWEA opportunities for university-level students.

Co-Chair – Sam Hawkinson [email protected]

Vice Chair – Eleanor Chin [email protected]

University Liaison / Student Membership – Brett Fergusson [email protected]

Past Chair – Annie Kirkwood Annie Kirkwood has her Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from UC Davis. Her experience is with water and wastewater treatment and design, environmental toxicology, aqueous chemistry and education. She has worked on projects improving water and wastewater treatment, categorizing contaminants of emerging concern, and reducing barriers in engineering for young women. In her free time she loves to dance, read, sew, knit, and bake.

MEMBERSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE

SYPC has FREE WEF/CWEA student memberships available! Ask us about it via email!

Follow the SYPC on social media at one of our many outlets:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cweaSFsypc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cweaSFsypc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cweasfsypc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7019078/

Technical Certification

The Technical Certification Program Committee organizes exam preparation sessions for voluntary certification in all vocations.

For more information, please contact one of the following committee members: please contact the CWEA SFBS Board of Directors if you would like to chair the Technical Certification Committee.

Email: [email protected]