A Day in the Life of … a Water Resources Engineer

"Back when I was in college, the nation's attention was turning to the environment with the formation of the U.S. EPA. I couldn't ignore the fact that I lived in the state where the river burned—the Cuyahoga. During my career, I have had the pleasure of working on projects that have improved the quality of that river," said Gary H., Business Development Manager for ARCADIS.

6:15 a.m. Head to the gym to swim a few laps.

7:30 a.m. Arrive at the office. Check email. Review notes for meeting with Cleveland Commissioner of Water scheduled for 9.

"From the time I was in the sixth grade, I knew I wanted to be an engineer … when I was in college, I focused in on water-related infrastructure,"

9 a.m. Face-to-face meeting with commissioner. Informative meeting. Potential for future work. Grab a celebratory snack on way back to the office.

10:30 a.m. Call from engineer in Akron. Needs information on replacing large diameter lead joint gate valves. Do some quick research and email response.

11:00 a.m. Continue writing technical memorandum for pump replacement recommendations on pump rehab project.

11:15 a.m. Call from Toledo office asking for quick review of treatment alternatives for water treatment proposal in two days.

"Calls like this energize me. I love giving feedback on these kinds of proposals. Water quality continues to intrigue me and propel my career."

1:00 p.m. Resume work on technical memorandum; complete draft; email to project manager for review.

"I'm sensing relief and accomplishment at this point. It's a great feeling."

2:00 p.m. Conference call with engineering and construction division of AWWA; discuss timetable for receiving and selecting abstracts for 2008 annual conference in Atlanta. Popcorn break.

3:00 p.m. Return phone calls. Clarify confusion in client's water master plan over the extent of scope on evaluation of riverbank filtration as a viable treatment plan; agree to meet client for dinner at upcoming conference.

4:20 p.m. Informed that mayor of nearby city wants presentation of our Comprehensive Water Plan to council in two weeks; make tentative schedule with PM to prepare slides.

"I've had the opportunity to work on WTP projects from start to finish, even the financing!  When you go through that experience, you become part of the community. It's so rewarding."

4:45 p.m. Update TO DO list; prepare for trip to Cincinnati tomorrow to meet with client on project update; e-mail engineer in Cinci office reminding him that I want to review hydraulic model he developed.

"With the array of services available internally at ARCADIS, we can package projects that cover many engineering disciplines. We're encouraged to be innovative and imaginative—and that's exciting. I would say that a person is only limited by their own imagination."

5:30 p.m. Last read and response to emails. Pack laptop and files in preparation for trip.

"From my vantage point, ARCADIS provides very unique opportunities to be part of major projects — projects that are challenging and unique in the industry."

6:30 p.m. Dinner with the family; some yard work; read the paper; bed by 10.