About Me

 Meet the Florida Water Geek - Donna Kaluzniak

 I have a passion for "all things water." 

I love Florida. 

And I enjoy writing. 

That's why I started this blog.

Donna Kaluzniak drinking water at Wakulla Springs, Florida
Enjoying a glass of refreshing water
at Wakulla Springs, Florida
I've been “into” water since 1979. That’s when I left a corporate job to work for my local water utility as a treatment plant operator trainee. My neighbor worked there, and he made the job sound fascinating. I was intrigued by the scientific and technical aspects of the work. Here's what I learned:

Water utilities are important—providing safe drinking water for our citizens; turning wastewater into clean water that could be reused for irrigation or safely sent back to the river; protecting the public health and the environment for our community.

Water is fascinating! Knowledge of biology, chemistry and mathematics is critical for operating water and wastewater treatment facilities. Operators have on-the-job and classroom training in treatment plant operation, maintenance, and laboratory testing. We had to understand the federal, state, and local regulations. All this training and experience is required to get a state license for operating our treatment plants. There's lots of variety in the work, including lab, mechanical, and record keeping tasks. It's never boring!

Over  36 years, I worked my way up from treatment plant operator - to environmental lab technician - to division director at one city. Then to assistant public works director - and finally to utility director for another city for the last 15 years. 

I was responsible for the city’s drinking water and water reclamation facilities, wells, pipelines, lift stations, and stormwater pumping. I managed their operation and maintenance - and engineering/construction for new and upgraded infrastructure. Meeting regulations while staying under budget was a challenge! 

In between all that, I went to college at night to earn a Master of Public Administration degree.

Our team completed many important projects - upgrading treatment facilities, replacing old pipelines, building new pump stations, installing new wells and modifying treatment plants to meet new regulations. Many of our projects were funded with grants.

Now I own H2O Writing, preparing technical documents, like treatment plant operations manuals. I also write case studies, articles and white papers for water equipment and service companies.

I am a true  Florida Water Geek. I love the water industry and everything about it. I still attend water conferences, learn about the latest technologies, give presentations and teach water leadership classes. 

Some of my other water-related activities:

I hope this blog will pique your interest about our Florida Water. . .

to appreciate, conserve and protect it. (I'm sure I'll learn more myself while researching and writing).

Enjoy the Florida Water Geek website!

Learn how water utilities work; fun water facts; how to conserve water; protect our lakes, rivers, oceans and much more. The world of water is not only fascinating—it’s vitally important.

 

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