Jeff in our Clarifier Building, where compounds are added and mixed into the water, causing fine particles like clays and silts to settle out.
Meet Jeff Turko, Senior Group Manager for Water Quality & Treatment, and a key part of our team at the Water Treatment Plant. In this critical role, Jeff manages the day-to-day, operational facets of PWSA’s water treatment and distribution process. This includes oversight of the Water Treatment Plant itself, where we produce an average of 65 to 75 million gallons of drinking water per day, and other assets that are part of the treatment and distribution process, like our pump stations, storage facilities, and more.
His overall goal is to exceed – not just meet – all regulatory requirements in the treatment and delivery of high-quality drinking water to you.
Tell us a little bit more about yourself. I started my PWSA career as a Water Operator in 2004. In 2007, I earned my Operator Certification from the state, a requisite certification for any employee in a Water Operator role. In 2019, I was promoted to Senior Manager, Production and in 2023 to my current role.
Wait, an Operator Certification? There are quite a few requirements for Water Operators, who are in many ways front-line protectors of public health and our shared water system. When changes to the treatment process are necessary, only certified Operators can make those kinds of decisions.
Why do you like working for PWSA? Although I grew up outside the city, we often traveled to Pittsburgh when I was young, and I’ve always loved this place. I like that each day I'm able to contribute to something integral to our city and communities. PWSA is a great place to work because we're building the team we need to strengthen and transform Pittsburgh's water system and protect that public asset for future generations.
What's something we may not know about the job you do? The season can impact aspects of the water production and treatment process. For instance, organic debris like leaves will decompose more through a warmer winter, creating a damp mess and clogging intake screens. A high rain event will cause turbidity – a measure of water cloudiness – to spike, necessitating an increase in the chemical that coagulates those suspended solids so they can be filtered out.
