City of Roseville

Michelle Sullivan is a landscape business owner turned Roseville Environmental Utilities water conservation worker. As a former landscaper, Michelle wishes she knew then what she knows now about efficient water choices. Now that she is a water efficiency expert for other businesses, she can let her real passions fly — advocate for efficient water use and help residents lower their consumption —closing the public knowledge gap with customers about best practices on using water as wisely as possible.

Starting a water conservation career at the height of the last drought has had a lingering impact on Michelle’s personal and professional life. She challenges her own water usage as diligently as she does her neighbors, and is always in search of the next new water saving device or technique. She understands that people are not inherently wasteful, and she simply wants to help.

Michelle believes in investigating high water usage for leaks rather than assuming the customer is a high-water user, and trusts that with education and water-saving tools, everyone can be a water saver. Her greatest source of pride comes from making community connections, building trust, and sharing water conservation techniques.

Always happiest in the field, Michelle helps residents identify leaks to prevent property damage, and walks residents and businesses through the process of inspection and conservation methods. If they become water efficient believers too and realize every drop counts, then Michelle has had a great day.

What is needed for this type of job

Certifications: California Landscape Irrigation Auditor and Water Distribution Grade 2. To maintain these certifications, you also need to take Continuing Education Credits. These credits are needed to move up the ranks. While certifications are important, personal drive and determination goes along way to deliver quality customer service.

Since he was a kid, Roseville Environmental Utilities plant and equipment mechanic Dave Eulberg has always liked to tinker. And, as he grew older, he gravitated toward welding and industrial fabrication while working in machine shops. Now, Dave is tinkering with the pumps and machinery at Environmental Utilities to guarantee clean and clear water is splashing out of those Roseville faucets.

Each day, Dave looks forward to the camaraderie he enjoys with his “family” at work as he monitors the pumps, fixes and repairs the gear boxes, and when necessary, takes a piece of steel and retrofits it to just the right specs (better than factory made!) to keep the plant humming. He takes pride knowing that his hard work is ensuring the water coming from Folsom Lake and journeying through the Barton Road Water Treatment Plant, becomes clean water for the citizens of Roseville.

The Roseville community is where Dave is raising his young family, and instilling the same discipline and caring he practices at work. At Environmental Utilities, he lives by the simple virtues of hard work, being clean and tidy, properly storing tools, helping others and exercising safe practices. At home, those qualities translate into a structured environment, where his children do their homework before play, and learning everyday is the expectation.

Dave is also constantly improving his own skills through education. He finds time to take electrical theory and computer building classes at Sierra College, and never shies away from acquiring job-related certificates for professional development. Dave will say he’s a process guy, and a safety-first guy, who sets out to do a good job at every task he’s preforming. And at the end of each work day, he hustles home to check his two daughters’ homework before announcing it’s time for play.

What is needed for this job

Dave has taken courses at Sierra College in Mechatronics Technology. He did this over the course of time, focusing on a course each year. He also has extensive background in mechanics, welding, machining, electrical, and heavy equipment.

Nayeli serves the residents of Roseville as an office assistant in the water utility customer service section. She has been in her role for almost a year and enjoys helping customers and providing solutions when they are in need.

One of the biggest perks of the position for Nayeli is that she is able to interact with different people on a daily basis, in and out of the department.

From the time she sits down in the morning to assist callers, to the moment she puts down her headset in the evening to go home, she is happy to know she is making a difference in the community.

Before he worked in Environmental Utilities’ stormwater program, Matt Shadel blended his biology degree with a passion for pets as an animal care technician at Sacramento’s Front Street Animal Shelter. After he left, he had hopes of one day owning a doggy daycare after he had a stint with Grateful Dog – a daycare and boarding facility.

Today, he is an Environmental Compliance Specialist in stormwater, where he has an exciting mixture of duties, all of which serve to keep Roseville waterways clean and healthy. Our motto is “only rain down the stormdrain” since anything that enters those drains go unfiltered right to the various creeks in Roseville and ultimately to our rivers.

So, Matt’s job is to work with, educate, and engage with customers on proper ways of disposing of paint, chlorinated water, or oil, to name a few. Proactively, Matt coordinates ongoing events, like Adopt A Creek, where everyone from Boy Scouts to Homeowner Associations come together for a day several times a year to pick up trash and debris near and in creeks.

He also works internally among the various departments to respond to stormwater quality issues. One example is overseeing the Surface Water Intake Protection Plan for Roseville’s Corporation Yard, a site that houses vehicle maintenance, fleet vehicles, warehouses, and more. The plan includes best management practices that reduce the potential for contamination entering the storm drain system and the collateral impacts to our creek system. He also takes samples at the nearby creek to ensure that water quality is within state and federal standards.

“My job includes a good mix of everything. It requires analytics and an understanding of science. It would help if you were organized and take the initiative to complete tasks,” Matt says. “I’m not stuck at a computer and enjoy my boss and team dynamic.”

In addition to the technical aspects of the job, Matt says job success comes with talking with customers with diplomacy and tact. “Most of the time, I am engaging with customers who received a notice from us, so they are upset rightfully. But my goal is to ease concerns in the first 30 seconds.”

As a graduate of Biology from U.C. Davis, coming to Roseville fits the start of his professional career. Matt was conducting mitigation monitoring in Yolo County for an international consulting firm specializing in environmental impacts, permitting, and mitigation out of college.

Coming to Roseville has allowed Matt to continue improving our Earth by upholding environmental health to a standard that everyone wants. It also allows him to impact the world but still maintain balance professionally and personally.

In all Matt’s jobs, Roseville included, there is a propensity to make a change. One of the proudest moments in his career was advocating for a pup at the Front Street Animal Shelter named Oreo. Matt spent time researching non-profits that could help pay for Oreo’s needed surgery. With his help, Oreo was a dog that is thriving still. And to this day, Matt gets images of the beloved dog he advocated to save.

What does it take to have a job like Matt’s?

You will want to understand environmental impacts and systems, be customer-first oriented, have a biology degree, and understand chemistry. Matt’s job also requires a qualified stormwater inspector permit with renewal and re-education every two years to keep pace with changing regulations.

Roseville is the kind of place where residents know their neighbors, and their neighbor may be a Roseville Environmental Utilities employee. That is certainly the case for those who live on the same block as Melissa Park, a laboratory technician for the wastewater utility.

She is a third generation water treatment expert, often talking shop with her grandfather and father when she was just a young girl growing up in Roseville, and even standing side by side with her dad at work many years later.

With 12 years of experience, now she is measuring microorganisms in wastewater discharged into Dry Creek (bugs are good.) She also measures pH levels and conducts other tests to ensure a clean water environment. Her job requires a lot of environmental science — perfect for someone who rallied her Roseville neighbors to recycle when she was in the sixth grade, and in junior high, interviewed Kim Spear on wastewater, the same Kim Spear who was Melissa’s boss until Kim retired several years ago.

Melissa wants everyone to know that the water treatment facility where she works is providing clean water to our creeks, just what is needed to keep them flowing fresh, especially in the stagnate summer.

Melissa is a natural communicator, an educator and the enforcer when it comes to insisting on good habits for the betterment of the environment. She says small changes make a big impact, so start by taking the produce stickers off your apples. They clog the equipment at the water treatment facility. Who knew?

What is needed for this job

• Two year degree with major course in science
• Obtain laboratory analyst certification from California Water Environment Association within the first year and half
• Laboratory and field sampling experience is a plus 

Jason Marks has been serving the Roseville community as a Senior Engineer for almost two years.

What drew him to his line of work was his enjoyment of math, science, and problem-solving -- the perfect formula for an engineer.

But what does a water engineer do for the city? They design distribution systems that ensure the constant flow of water, of course! While engineers are most commonly associated with bridges, roads, buildings, and mechanics, water distribution is more out-of-sight and out-of-mind -- until it is in high demand.

Jason is no stranger to the water industry. He has also played vital roles in other cities' wastewater treatment processes. His well-rounded knowledge and expertise is what helps to keep Roseville's water flowing.


What is needed for this job

To become a civil engineer, you need a Bachelor of Science in some kind of engineering field, particularly for water. There is an Engineering in Training (EIT) exam that must be passed as a first step to get licensed as an Engineer and after obtaining your college degree, at least two years of engineering experience, and passing the EIT exam, you are eligible to take the Professional Engineering (PE) Exam. Depending on the state, this PE exam differs, but in California it is broken into three sections. These sections are general engineering, surveying, and seismic sections. This PE license must be renewed every two years to keep it current and active.

With more than five years under his belt with Environmental Utilities, Chris Macias is a customer service guru in our waste services division. For the balance of his time in Environmental Utilities, Chris assisted residents and commercial customers with garbage-related questions and concerns. Recently, he was promoted to solid waste billing technician. He still helps customers get to solutions but now oversees billing commercial and residential properties for dumpster service.

Every day is different as a customer service representative in waste services. For example, if a customer forgets to put their trash bin out, you can count on Chris to help. Chris is on the phone coordinating if a customer wants to schedule door-to-door pick-ups. And he assists businesses in Roseville with their trash, recycling, and green waste services.

During his tenure with Roseville, Chris started as a provisional office assistant but has since moved into two other positions, including the recent promotion as a solid waste billing technician.

"My job helps keep the community safe and healthy by being the point of contact for solid waste services to Roseville's people and businesses," Chris says.

Chris says he chose this line of work because it's meaningful. He gets to help the community and allows him to grow personally.

"My proudest career moment was a promotion to Solid Waste Billing Technician," Chris added.

Chris is also in the process of attaining his Associate's degree.

People like Derek Roe help keep Roseville clean and customers happy. He is a senior solid refuse truck driver in our waste services division that handles trash, recycling, and green waste for Roseville residences and businesses.

Our waste services division covers all of Roseville including 18 residential routes per day, 83 commercial routes per week, and processes more than 130,000 tons of trash and recycling annually.

Derek has been with Roseville for seven years, starting first as a temporary worker for our rear-loader truck, which is used for commercial customers and in areas where our other fleet cannot enter—like alleyways or tight spaces. This job was a stepping stone for Derek as it allowed him to get his permit and license. And, it was a highlight of his career so far.

As a senior refuse truck driver, Derek plans all of the routes for the roll-off drivers, troubleshoots along the way making changes as necessary to provide high-quality service, and he also tends to the many recycling sites in Roseville.

“I love how I am able to be outside all day and every day is never the same as the day before,” Derek says.

Our garbage truck drivers have ardent fans, too. Derek says that some of the best and most rewarding times of the job are when he drives past kids and see their excitement as they see their garbage man.

What is one of Derek’s proudest moments? “I used to service a preschool on my route and wave to the same class of kids as they would run to the windows to watch me dump the trash. One day they all came out and gave me a book they made of pictures they had drawn of me in my truck.”

The best education for this line of work is on-the-job training. It also requires a Class B license, and his group of solid waste workers guided him to obtaining that license in no time.