Mechanic

Meet Efren Monroy Magana Jr.

Describe your job

I am a Mechanic II, which means I play a role in maintaining all of Dublin San Ramon Services District’s (DSRSD’s) wastewater and recycled water equipment at the Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pleasanton. This includes pumps, motors, piping, and valves. Even though I work at one location, every day is different, which I did not expect before working here.

When something breaks, our wastewater treatment plant operators submit work orders to let us know about the issue and be our point-person. However, not all the work is fixing something that is already broken. We have a predictive maintenance program, meaning that we use vibration and temperature sensors to catch failing equipment before the problem is visible to the naked eye. Preventative maintenance helps us reduce costs and ensure the plant runs smoothly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

How did you get into the water/wastewater industry?

I was an HVAC technician before the District hired me as a seasonal harvester in 2020. In 2022, I started my first permanent DSRSD position as a Maintenance Worker. From there, I was promoted to Mechanic I and finally Mechanic II.

One of the benefits of working in this industry is that there are a lot of different mechanic specialties. I am a treatment plant mechanic, but we have other mechanics who work on our vehicle fleet, our pump stations, and our cogeneration engines. If one of these specialties interests you, you can learn more on the job.

What do you like best about your job? What is the most rewarding aspect?

We’re responsible for keeping the toilets flushing and the water flowing; it’s important work. I don’t have a problem with staying late because it’s rewarding when I get to work on a project where it’s started and finished on the same day. I like being able to say that we were able to finish something faster and better than before.

I also enjoy shifts where I am the standby after-hour mechanic because you never know what you will be called in for. It could be for issues with gates, doors, a sewer back-up, you name it. It’s fun to figure out a solution when you are here by yourself.

I would say half the time I am on standby, I get a call about our cogeneration engines (cogen). These engines power the plant through a blend of natural gas and renewable biogas produced during the treatment process.

Recently, I learned how important these engines are to keep our power costs lower. If cogen is down for only 15 minutes during PG&E's peak hours, it puts the plant in a different energy bracket and costs thousands of dollars more!

Keeping cogen running is one of the most critical and technical jobs that my department has.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Wastewater treatment plants have a long life span, which means sometimes we are fixing equipment that is decades old. It can be challenging to find replacement parts, because everything is so specialized and must be 100% identical.

What are your favorite hobbies?

I am an outdoor person. In my time off, I enjoy golfing, fishing in the Delta with friends, hunting deer and waterfowl, and working on my vehicles and dirt bikes.