Water Blogged

I’m Brandon Stieber, Engineering Unit Manager for the SJW Special Facilities Department, a division of the Engineering Department. In this role, I manage and perform civil engineering design for in-station facility work for SJW’s Capital Improvement Program. This includes projects for water storage tanks, pump stations, groundwater production wells, control valves, yard piping, above-grade and subsurface appurtenances, structures, grading, drainage, and paving. I am a licensed civil engineer in the state of California and have over 17 years of experience.

I’m Jared Lewis, Manager of Environmental Planning and Natural Resources at San Jose Water. In this role, I direct environmental management, stewardship, wildfire resiliency, and water resource programs and policy. I also manage watershed and asset planning, resource protection, risk mitigation, and oversee long-range planning initiatives for land use, conservation, and ecosystem restoration.

Each year, the Leadership students at Ida Price Middle School present ideas to vote on that will make a beneficial change for the school. Previous projects have included murals, gardens, time capsules, and plaques.

At San Jose Water, customer service is a job that spans from assisting customers in understanding their water bills to overseeing the rollout of advanced metering technology, and everything in between. We had the chance to sit down with our newly appointed — though not new to SJW! — Director of Customer Service to learn a little more about her and her goals stepping into this new role. Read on for an employee spotlight Q&A with Director Sharon Whaley.

The two 5.1 million gallon water tanks are replacing a 19.6 million gallon earth embankment reservoir built in 1963, which was nearing the end of its useful life.  The new tanks will hold less water (the population has used less water over the last 30 years, despite 29% population growth).  Smaller tanks allow for the average age of water to be lower, helping water quality and taste.  In addition, having two tanks allows for taking one tank down during low usage periods for cleaning and repairs.

I’m Kurt Elvert, the Manager of Field Service and Conservation at San Jose Water. In my position, I oversee the field service department, which serves as our first responders when identifying water main breaks. I also oversee the conservation department, the meter shop department, the meter reading department, and our recycled water program.

San Jose Water is proud to announce that we have been awarded three prestigious Hermes Creative Awards for 2023.

Anyone who’s had the good fortune of paying a visit to SJW’s Meter Shop is likely acquainted with its friendly, dedicated and multi-talented Superintendent, Anh Tran.

I’m Colby Sneed, the Director of Operations and Treatment at San Jose Water. In my position, I oversee the production, treatment, transmission, and storage of your drinking water. My team and I manage all of the pumps, motors, control valves, tanks, and reservoirs to keep the water flowing through our infrastructure system.