'It's Provided Me with a Great Life'

As he approaches his last day, Chris Robinson reflects on a 25-year career at SD1

Chris Robinson started working at SD1 as an operator at Dry Creek in 1997. As he prepares for his last day on March 31, a lot has changed since then. We sat down with Chris to talk about his work at SD1 and what comes next.

When did you start at SD1?
July of 1997.

And what was your role then?
Operator at Dry Creek.

What’s your title now?
Operations Coordinator at Western Regional.

What do you do as operations coordinator?
Basically I have the same responsibilities as a team leader. Overseeing sampling, making sure sampling is done correctly. Making sure information is input into the programs correctly. Receiving goods. Making sure all the guys have what they need to perform their job duties. The list goes on and on.

How many guys are on your team?
Typically it would be four, but right now we’re short-staffed so I only have two. But I’d have two day-shift guys and two night-shift guys that I’d be responsible for.

How much sampling goes on at Western?
We have daily samples that we pull and our permit samples are once a week.

On the daily samples, what are we testing for?
It’s for process control stuff mainly. We run our mixed liquor and return sludge and we want to see how many solids are in each. That just gives us an idea of how to make adjustments to the treatment plant, if any.

How long have you been doing this role?
I’ve been at Western ever since it opened up, so I’ve been doing it there for 10 years. I became a team leader maybe close to 20 years ago.

What is the most challenging part of job?
I’d have to say just all the different personalities and working with all the different guys and trying to keep everything cohesive and keep everyone on the same page.

What is the best part of your job?
There’s a certain satisfaction you get from knowing that you’re helping the environment. You’re making water cleaner for people to use downstream and making it a cleaner environment for the future.

Was that the reason you came to SD1?
No. I didn’t even know what a wastewater plant was when I started here. I was so naïve. I literally thought all sewage went straight to the river. I don’t know if you know Dave Ross – he’s married to my cousin. He knew I was looking and he gave me a call and said, ‘Hey, why don’t you put in for this job?’ And I was like alright. And there we go – I’ve been here ever since.

Now that you’re in that position, would you call someone and say, “Hey, you should come work at SD1”?
Yeah, absolutely. It’s a great place to work. It’s a friendly, laid-back environment. Obviously, you’re not going to get rich working here, but you make a good healthy living and the benefits are great.

What will you miss the most about working here?
Probably just the camaraderie of the guys who I do have on shift. We all seem to mesh really well and get along really well.

What’s next?
I’m not sure really. I’m going to take the summer off and do some rehabs for some people, kind of go from there. See where that leads me.

Is that something you’ve done before?
It’s something I’ve been interested in getting into and I’ve kind of tinkered with it, but I’ve never really done it and charged somebody. That’s all stuff that I have to figure out, but I’m game. And the job market is wide open right now, so if that doesn’t work out for me…

What advice would you give to a young guy starting out at SD1 right now?
Stay focused and learn as much as possible. Stay very attentive to what you’re doing. And obviously stay safe.

Anything else you’d like to add about your time at SD1?
It's provided me with a great life. I can’t complain. I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t gotten my job here.

Chris's last day is Thursday, March 31. Be sure to wish him well and thank him for his years of service to the Northern Kentucky region.