Women In Water

Just a decade ago, few women were working in the water sector. What’s more, even fewer served in technical and managerial positions. But change is happening and nowhere is this more evident than at Santa Ana’s Water Resources Division. 

Meet some of the women who are a driving force behind your water quality, treatment, distribution and planning.

Engineering 

Yolanda's interest in water peaked when she took several college courses in water as she was working on her civil engineering degree. While her career took another route after receiving her degree, she was excited to join the Water Resources Division in December 2020 after learning about the importance of her role. 

“I didn’t have to think twice about accepting this position,” she explains. “We all use and need water to live. How amazing is it that we get to work behind the scenes and provide water to thousands of people.” 

In her role as Assistant Engineer, she works primarily with Capital Improvement Projects, designing plans for pipeline replacement and preparing specifications and engineers’ estimates. These are used to prepare requests for proposals and agreements in procuring services. She then sees these projects through construction, reviewing contractors’ submittals and visiting construction sites.

Fallon is also an Assistant Engineer. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in civil engineering. She joined the Water Resources team more than six months ago and works primarily with Water Production. She enjoys the fast-paced work environment, the technical aspect of her position and the opportunity to be involved in modernizing the City’s water infrastructure. 

She prepares requests for proposals, pump and motor specifications, water pumping projection plans, and reports pertaining to water projects such as upgrading pumping facilities and rehabilitating groundwater wells. She assists in project oversight, which entails reviewing engineering plans, interfacing with contractors and other water agencies and collaborating with system operators on a daily basis. 

“The employees here are passionate about providing great water to the residents,” she says. “I love how much history is involved in water production. I research historical records about annual water usage and calculate future water usage. It’s interesting to see how water usage has changed and is trending towards conservation.”

Water Quality 

Preserving the quality and availability of our water supply through water conservation is where Nadiya wants to make a difference. 

“With only about 0.3% of earth’s water available for human consumption, drinkable water is a valuable and scarce resource,” explains Nadiya. “We are fortunate to live in Santa Ana which is situated on the deepest part of a large aquifer from which we draw the best-tasting potable water in the United States!” 

As a Water Quality Inspector, Nadiya works hard to ensure that this great-tasting water is ready for consumption for all Santa Ana residents. Drawing on her bachelor’s degree in civil-environmental engineering, she is responsible for water quality compliance and water conservation. Her responsibilities range from water quality sampling and reporting to performing inspections and engaging the public with up-to-date information on the quality of their drinking water. 

Solving different issues each day is a challenge Nadiya welcomes in her role; so is finding new ways to educate the public on the high quality of their potable water and its conservation.

“Together we can make impactful and long-lasting changes for future generations to come.”  

Joining Nadiya as a Water Quality Inspector is Itzel. She worked part time reading water meters for other cities while attending Orange Coast College for respiratory therapy. During her tenure at the City of Huntington Beach, she cross trained in different departments including water quality, water conservation and the meter shop, where she helped program AMI smart meters. 

She later enrolled in Santiago Canyon College’s program to take courses on water treatment and distribution before joining the City of Santa Ana.

Itzel focuses on taking weekly samples at Santa Ana’s reservoirs, responding to customer calls about water pressure and water quality, and addressing resident concerns around water waste.

“When I respond to a call, people expect a guy to come out,” she explains. “I don’t let that phase me. I’m confident in my skills and knowledge.” 

Itzel is also actively involved in educating the public about water quality and conservation. 

“I love interacting with the community and educating people about the safety of their tap water. I know I make a difference in the community when I respond to each call.” 

Administration/Management 

When Kathia started with Public Works 11 years ago as an accounting assistant, she was at a loss. She had a degree, but didn’t feel she had many career options.

Soon after, everything changed. She said being surrounded by people who were passionate about the City’s sewer and water system was not only impressive, it was aspirational.

“It helped me fine tune my career options and return to school to gain a better understanding of Public Works,” she explains. “I officially joined the City’s water team four years ago and a new professional world opened up for me.”

As Projects Manager, her duties include administration and contracts management, ultimately ensuring third-party contractors are available to support staff and provide services that are critical to water operations and systems maintenance.

“If people only knew all the expertise and resources that go into our infrastructure and processes to deliver high-quality drinking water, they would not buy bottled water and would save so much money,” she adds. “That’s why our City’s mantra is ‘Drink It From the Tap!’”  

Few people can say they have served the Santa Ana community for more than three decades. Lucy is one exception. 

She enjoyed a long tenure with Santa Ana’s Park & Recreation Department before joining the Water Resources team eleven years ago. She had many choices at the time, but it was the friendly and high-energy staff in water that made her decision easy. 

Lucy juggles a wide range of activities in her position as Senior Office Assistant. She processes purchasing requests and orders supplies. She covers the dispatch line, which is the central number residents call for questions about utility bills, trash pickup and street sweeping, and for reporting graffiti, water waste, and water and sewer emergencies. She schedules new employee interviews and processes annual employee evaluations. She even processes rental permits for fire hydrants, which are temporary water service connections needed for construction sites.

“I enjoy the variety of my day-to-day work that touches upon every aspect of the Water Resources Division,” she said. “But most of all, I enjoy the people I work with!” 

Whether you are interested in management or a technical career, such as engineering, we hope each of the women profiled here are an inspiration and example of the many opportunities available in the water and sewer industry.