Karen Honer works to keep Lodi’s water clean
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles about women who are shaping Lodi’s future, in honor of Women’s History Month.
When Karen Honer sees trash on the side of the road she stops and picks it up. That type of cleanliness and respect for the environment is the same approach she takes when treating Lodi’s wastewater.
Honer, the superintendent at the White Slough wastewater treatment plant, has always had dreams of being an environmentalist and planned to have a career as a park ranger. However, those plans quickly changed once she was introduced to the world of wastewater.
“Everyone thinks that they’re going to go straight into whatever they think they’re going to do in life, and you never get to your goal without a lot of zigzags,” Honer said. “When I decided to be a wastewater plant operator I thought I was just totally throwing my degree away, but the more I got into the field I realized it came full circle. I needed to understand the science and math and the environment to be able to properly to do my job.”
She didn’t realize how much she’d be achieving her goals of being environmentally conscious and protecting the environment until she fully understood what wastewater treatment entailed.
Honer, a graduate of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a degree in Natural Resources Management, touts more that 30 years of experience in the wastewater industry.
“When I went to school, I had no clue what wastewater was and didn’t care, I planned on being a park ranger,” Honer said. “Me and Smokey the Bear were going to hang out in the cabin in the woods, and that’s how I was going to spend my life.”
Honer became a park ranger in Monterey County, where she worked for four years. She never anticipated that law enforcement would be a part of the job.
“I knew I wasn’t cut out for law enforcement, and that’s what you do in the summer,” she said. “You’re telling people what to do and what not to do, and I didn’t appreciate that and it ruined it for the other nine months of the year when I gave hikes and worked on the trails and had kids come in,” she said.
When a friend suggested a career in wastewater treatment, Honer initially brushed off the idea, but a year later she decided to follow her friend’s advice.
“I took a cut in pay and became a wastewater plant operator and never looked back. Best thing I could have ever done,” she said.
One of the major motivating factors for Honer wanting to become an operator was the constant need for wastewater treatment.
“We’re going to always need wastewater treatment plants,” she said.
Honer’s key responsibilities as wastewater superintendent include making sure the plant is compliant with regulations and that it’s discharging the quality of water the state mandates.
“I’ve always thought that with my degree in natural resources that I came full circle,” Honer said. “Here I am at the wastewater treatment plant, and we take raw sewage, we clean it up and we put it into the river cleaner than the river is itself. They mandate that we have cleaner water than what’s out there.”
A typical day for Honer involves attending staff meetings, meeting with outside contractors to discuss projects, overseeing plant operations and staying no top of regulations and restrictions.
What she is enjoys the most about her job is knowing that the plant is putting out a good product.
Honer said the job is challenging.
“It’s not an easy job,” she said. “Not only do the operators have to do a good job but we have to make sure that the mechanics can fix and repair and install equipment as well as our lab and environmental compliance people do the analysis and whatever else is necessary for everybody to work together to produce a fantastic end product.”
Honer says there are not a lot of women in the wastewater industry and over the years she’s learned how to adjust to being a women working in a male-dominated industry.
“When I first got started, I felt like I had to prove myself because I was a woman,” she said. “I didn’t say it out loud but I felt like if they’re jumping down in the ditch and are digging for three hours straight then I’ve got to jump down the ditch and dig for four hours straight.
“I had a really good lesson when I was with the city of Dallas. I learned that I didn’t have to prove I was better, I just had to prove that I could do the job and work side by side with the guys.”
Honer said she is exceptional at teaching and because of her math and science skills she is able to help some of the workers train for their certifications.
Honer’s career in wastewater began in 1982 as an operator in training for the City of Carmel. Two years later she moved to Texas, where she worked for the City of Dallas for almost eight years before working for the State of Texas writing and enforcing discharge permits to municipalities in violation of the water regulations.
After her stint in Texas, she returned to California and began working for a private company that contracted with municipalities. While working in the private sector she held various positions, including plant manager and technical expert.
In 2008, Honer was hired by the City of Stockton as a plant operator and became a supervisor. In 2012 she began working for the City of Lodi and has been working there ever since.
Honer resides in Galt with her wife Kristine and their two dogs, three cats and one fish.
In her free time, Honer also enjoys gardening, kayaking and painting, and she even has a studio in her back yard. She also plans to learn how to make candles this summer.
“Anything that has a creative outlet I love it,” she said.
She owns a travel trailer and enjoys camping as well.
“Thirty years ago I would not have referred to a travel trailer as camping, but I’m older and it’s glamping — glorified camping,” she said.