A Message From Nabil Saba

 

I think we can all agree that we are living in challenging times. Never in our lives have we experienced a global crisis nor dealt with a pandemic response on this scale. Certainly, people are concerned about their health, safety and economic impact of this response since the onset of COVID-19. 

Amidst the uncertainty, there are three things you can count on: the essential services we provide, the long-term sustainability of our water infrastructure and water quality. 

As the newly appointed Public Works Director, I want to assure you that the essential services we provide to our community have and will continue as this pandemic response evolves. The City of Santa Ana has planned ahead and is well prepared. We have implemented decisive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of all, while carrying out essential Public Works functions including water quality, water distribution, wastewater and trash collection. We accomplish this through flexible work schedules, multiple shifts, and rotation of work shifts to allow for sufficient “sheltering at home” of critical staff. 

The importance of long-term planning and capital improvement projects to ensure our water supply remains reliable and sustainable for generations to come is not diminished during the pandemic response. Now that the Water Enterprise has secured funding for future capital improvement projects, we have updated our Water and Sewer Master Plans and will begin to make timely re-investments in our critical infrastructure such as establishing additional groundwater sources with new wells, pipelines, water tanks and pump stations. 

As always, we strive to better leverage our resources and improve our efficiencies.  This means we will be strategic about planning other public works improvements, such as our streets, in conjunction with water and sewer infrastructure upgrades. In this way, when we replace aging underground pipelines, we will repave streets and repair gutters, curbs and sidewalks. 

In this Water Quality Report, you will read more about the improvements to Santa Ana’s infrastructure as well as exciting plans to advance important initiatives and pursue new opportunities that will benefit our residential and business community. You’ll also learn about the work performed by our Water Quality staff in maintaining high water quality standards and ensuring the safety of your drinking water. 

As challenging as these times may be, we have a lot to appreciate in friends, family, coworkers and, in particular, our health care workers, first responders and essential workers. I would like to thank our talented and dedicated staff who ensure that services essential to the community’s well being are provided each and every day. 

The community of Santa Ana is resilient and I am confident we will pull through this together! On behalf of the Santa Ana Public Works Agency, thank you for your continued trust in allowing us to serve you.

 

Sincerely,


Nabil Saba, P.E.
Executive Director
Public Works Agency