THE OTHER FRONT LINES
Emergency services and health-care workers are rightfully receiving public accolades during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is plenty of unsung work by City of Ottawa staff such as waste collection supervisor Jonathan Smith,
There’s no rest for municipal core services during a pandemic.
Sewage water needs treating. Trash must be hauled from the curbside. Old infrastructure requires replacement.
Ottawa’s emergency services and health-care workers rightfully receive public accolades during the public health crisis, but there’s plenty of unsung work by City of Ottawa front-line staff during the COVID -19 pandemic.
These are just three of the thousands of local public servants who have continued to deliver critical programs.
PAUL MONTGOMERY, PLANT MANAGER FOR WASTE WATER TREATMENT
“We’re about protecting public health, but we’re also about protecting the environment.”
Life around the city’s sewage plant has been a little more businesslike than usual, but this is a workforce constantly practising good hygiene — certainly way before the pandemic hit.
“It’s a waste-water plant, dealing with bacteria and viruses and that type of thing. They’re in the waste water. They always were. There’s just some new ones now,” Paul Montgomery said.
“We have to take measures and we have to take precautions.”
Montgomery, a mechanical engineer, has been with the city for more than 16 years. At the time of the interview he was the acting plant manager for waste-water treatment, but his permanent position is managing the Lemieux Island water purification plant.
“It’s certainly a different product,” Montgomery said, joking about the difference between managing sewage and drinking water.
But here’s an unquestionable serious side of the work at the sewage plant.
“We’re about protecting public health, but we’re also about protecting the environment,” he said.
He’s been seeing unfortunate pandemic-related trends in the sewage water, like wrongly marketed “flushable” wipes that aren’t actually flushable. The products risk bunging up the treatment system and he wanted to remind residents to only flush the three Ps: toilet paper, pee and poop.
Waste-water treatment and drinking-water production are two of the top priorities for the City of Ottawa during the pandemic. The utilities, and their expert staff, must be protected at all costs.
The tight-knit workforce keeping the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre running has been getting used to a new way of doing business since COVID-19 hit.
“We’ve reduced the number of contractors coming on site for only those (services) which need to be continued,” Montgomery said. “We’ve staggered shifts. We’ve moved people around. We have 24/7 shift operators in the control room. We’ve asked that they don’t meet the other folks. They communicate by phone.”
Similar measures have been implemented at the Lemieux Island water purification plant, he said.
“I’m a person who gets a lot of my energy from other people. That is different. You’re talking to people on phones or seeing them virtually or talking to folks from a distance, and yeah, that is strange, there’s no doubt about it,” Montgomery said. The goals, however, don’t change. “Rest assured, we’re here every day, making sure the drinking water is safe when you turn on the tap, and that the waste water people send down the toilets and drains across the city is treated and protects the environment. People shouldn’t worry about that at these times. We’re taking care of it.”
JONATHAN SMITH, SOLIDWASTE COLLECTION FIELD SUPERVISOR
“It’s hands-down the hardest job I’ve ever done.”
The first couple of weeks during the pandemic shutdown were unsettling for Jonathan Smith and his team of east-end waste collectors.
But as the city increased its availability of protective equipment and adopted new collection policies, the crew grew more confident about hitting the streets each day to haul away residential waste.
Smith is a solid-waste collection field supervisor for a large eastern zone between Gloucester and Sarsfield, with more than 50 staff under him. He’s tasked with co-ordinating collection operators to complete daily garbage pickups. He’s been supervisor for just under a year after climbing the ranks since joining the city as a casual employee in 2016.
The trash loads have increased — they were growing even before the pandemic, thanks to expanding communities — and the days have been long for the collection staff.
The time crunch is the biggest stress for Smith, making sure the waste is collected in good time.
On a personal level, Smith said his main worry was the risk of bringing home the virus to his parents, with whom he lives. His father is working from home and his mother is working at Costco, which also has staff in precarious roles dealing with the public.
Smith said there are a few things residents can do to help solid-waste operators during the pandemic: put loose tissues in tied bags before putting them in green bins and do the same for residual waste placed in containers.
Also, he asked that people try to limit their leaf and yard waste to three bags to allow operators to get the jobs done in good time while maximizing physical distancing.
“The teamwork and the morale is high,” Smith said. “It’s awesome to see. We’re a pretty tight group here. The workers always seem to rally together during tough times. It just certainly makes dealing with this pandemic a lot easier.”
Smith has been heartened by the increase in compliments from residents.
“I have so much respect for our operators who give it their all every day, no matter what the weather is like,” Smith said. “It’s hands-down the hardest job I’ve ever done.”
ROXANNE TUBB, SENIOR ENGINEER IN INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
“We’re doing our best to make sure our services are delivered as they always have been.”
The pandemic has meant Roxanne Tubb is quarterbacking major municipal infrastructure projects from a computer and phone in her bedroom, while another project is happening under her roof.
Because of a kitchen renovation, Tubb’s family is dispersed across the remaining rooms. Her husband is in the basement with an office setup and her 12-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son are in their rooms doing school work.
“I think the fact that we’ve had the renovation happening has sort of brought us together a little bit because we’ve really had to co-operate in terms of meal preps and walking the dog and staying relatively organized,” Tubb said.
“The nice thing is we actually have meals together every day,” she added with a laugh.
Tubb has several years’ experience working for the city and has been a senior engineer in the infrastructure services branch for about a year and a half. She’s on the design and construction team for municipal infrastructure, managing projects to renew roads, sidewalks, sewers, bridges and other city assets.
The Bronson Avenue reconstruction and the replacement of a decades-old combined sewer on Cambridge Street in the Chinatown area are two of her projects.
So far, home-based project oversight is working well for Tubb, who has a team that includes a construction inspector working on site.
Before the pandemic, biweekly progress briefings would usually happen at the job sites and Tubb would be meeting in person with staff, city councillors and residents. It’s now done remotely, which Tubb said can be more efficient in terms of commuting time, but can be challenging if she wants to use visual aids to illustrate a project.
Tubb credited staff for quickly implementing provincially mandated health-and-safety measures on projects.
The only concerns Tubb has heard have come from residents regarding noise. With many people working from home, they’re becoming more aware of the construction in their neighbourhoods.
With that in mind, she had a message for residents: “Thank you for patience with us through this trying time. We’re doing our best to make sure our services are delivered as they always have been.” jwilling@postmedia.com Twitter.com: @JonathanWilling