Over the next several months, the Santa Margarita Water District will introduce followers on social media to its complex water system and cadre of water professionals, each bringing specialized education, training and skills to deliver safe drinking water to your tap and then recapture, treat and deliver recycled water throughout the community. Drinking water, wastewater, and recycled water have long been described as the “silent service.” These systems are out of sight and mind as long as they work well, and water flows with the turn of the tap or the unmentionables are quickly flushed away. The Face + Places of Santa Margarita Water District campaign will showcase these silent services and the diverse people and careers of the District through videos, photos, and storytelling.
As part of California’s second annual Water Professionals Appreciation Week, October 6 – 14, the Faces + Places campaign will shine a light on the Faces that labor in heat, dark of the night, on weekends and holidays, in ditches, sewers systems and busy roadways, and advocate for critical projects to ensure reliable and sustainable water supplies for hundreds of thousands of residents and visitors in south Orange County. Water is available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year thanks to water professionals!
Meet the Faces + Places of the Santa Margarita Water District by following the District on Facebook (SMWDnews), Twitter (@SMWDwater) and YouTube.
Recent labor studies estimate that 60,000 people work in the California’s water industry and it needs roughly 6,000 new employees each year. The water industry offers a wide variety of rewarding career opportunities in operations, construction, customer service, IT, engineering, biology, finance, business administration, law, communications and many position in high-demand occupations.
Water Professionals Appreciation Week was established in 2017 by Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 80, by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa). The measure was sponsored by a coalition of water associations led by the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) and included WateReuse California, California Municipal Utilities Association, California Association of Sanitation Agencies and the California Water Association. Under SCR 80, the annually designated week begins on the first Saturday of October and ends on the Sunday of the following weekend.