Staff Spotlight: Christina Jones, New Director of Water Operations

In February, Christina Jones took the helm as the new Director of Water Operations at West Parish Filters. Christina has a BS in Civil & Environmental Engineering, a Masters in Environmental Engineering, and holds a Treatment 4 license and Distribution 4 operator-in-training license. Christina has worked with the Commission since 2020 under former Director Jim Laurila to learn the intricacies of the plant and set up a Water Operations team focused on teamwork and public service.

“Working with Jim for these past six years has been like a leadership apprentice program of sorts – he’s allowed me to learn and grown in a constructive environment while providing the support I need,” she said.  “I am thankful that I have had so much time to train for this position with his guidance.”

As the new leader of West Parish, Christina is now carrying forward what she learned with a new management structure as support. The goals and mission remain the same, but Christina plans to build in regular time for Water Operations managers to provide meaningful input to enable the entire team work more effectively, thrive, and grow. In the near term, her team is planning for the startup of the rehabilitated 42” raw water transmission main, which will ensure a reliable and consistent delivery of raw water for treatment.

Looking out longer-term, the Water Operations team is focused on maintaining plant operations through multiple construction tie-ins and site work. “Our team has worked seamlessly to respond to multiple unanticipated interruptions resulting from the construction work on site, such as taking on the challenge of closing Valve 215,” she said.  “The way our team works together and supports each other is a big part of why I love my job!”

Christina has been involved in the development of the new West Parish Water Treatment Plant for far longer than the construction phase, however. While the project was in design, Christina helped review different aspects of the plans from an operational perspective and provided feedback to the design engineer. She also visited similar treatment plants to talk to other operators and gather input on what types of plant layouts and equipment worked well, and what types to avoid.

Now that the plant construction is underway, Christina’s team works to maintain plant operations while closely coordinating with the construction crew as it re-routes and ties into the existing plant’s systems.  This also means that when unexpected incidents arise, it’s her staff that runs to respond. But to Christina, the ups and downs that will come with years of disruption are all part of a larger calling:

“I have always been drawn to public service and helping provide essential services to the community.  Working on this project comes with a strong sense of purpose, and it feels great to be able to use my background and the strengths I have to contribute to it.  I’m thrilled to be here, at this time and place, working on this challenging project.  When I look forward, I am particularly excited about how we as a team will bring our skills and strengths together to run the new plant intelligently and efficiently, working with our leadership team, IT, Engineering, and our other departments across the Commission to do the best job we can do.”