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Continuing our series about the people and systems that keep Ventura Water flowing, this month we focus on one of the most basic premises of sound water resource management—water conservation. The Conservation Team’s goal is to help Ventura Water’s customers meet or exceed water conservation regulations that have become more vital and stringent, in our mostly semi-arid state. Ventura Water has implemented successful water conservation programs for over 30 years, from offering rebates and incentives when customers purchase low water use appliances or when they remove water thirsty lawns, to providing residents with low flow showerheads or toilet leak detection kits. Since education is a big part of best practices to improve water efficiency, public outreach plays a large role in this team’s efforts. Water conservation outreach takes many forms—from engaging the public at local events, distributing a monthly newsletter, maintaining a social media presence, and connecting with local businesses and civic groups, to organizing tours of the Ventura Water Reclamation Facility.
Stephen Glenn has worked for Ventura Water for four years, first as an environmental services specialist and most recently as the environmental services supervisor. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in water resources management from Sonoma State University and gained ten years of experience in water use efficiency before joining Ventura Water. Leading a team of three, besides overseeing multiple outreach programs, Stephen is instrumental in reporting indoor and outdoor water consumption to state regulators. He also contributes to future planning documents including an Urban Water Management Plan, submitted to the State Water Resources Control Board every five years, and an internal document, the Water Use Efficiency Plan. And Stephen is always on the lookout for the latest innovations and programs to help the City reduce or be more efficient with water usage. Future projects may include dedicated irrigation meters since outdoor water use can amount to 50-75% of the City’s water consumption.
When asked about the most challenging part of his job, Stephen says it is keeping up with the regulations coming from the State of California, which tend to evolve and change. His favorite part of his job is performing a wide variety of tasks, and he appreciates the opportunity to gain on-the-job knowledge from his coworkers.
Next in our series focusing on the staff and systems that make up Ventura Water, we will look at several small but mighty teams that support our mission to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater services to our community.
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