The  Camp Fire burned through the town of Paradise, California in November 2018, causing  significant damage to Paradise Irrigation District's infrastructure. As a result, more than 10,500 customers were advised not to drink their water because of the contamination from benzene detected in distribution pipelines and water service lines.

Padre Dam employees along with four Helix Water District employees spent the week in Paradise working to ensure water safety. This included flushing water through individual  home and business connections as well as establishing temporary connections for Paradise residents. 

Paradise Irrigation District requested assistance through the California Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network, a mutual aid program that works in collaboration with the State Office of Emergency Services. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse Padre Dam for all expenses, including payroll and travel.

"Our community knows what it means to be devastated by a wildfire," said Paul Clarke, Director of Operations at Padre Dam. "We saw first-hand the challenges of keeping water flowing during the 2003 Cedar Fire. Clean, safe drinking water is a basic human need and we were honored to help our colleagues up north." 

Any time you need it, clean, safe water is available with the turn of a knob for drinking, cooking, cleaning, landscaping and more. This is in part thanks to the work of Joe Guzzino, Padre Dam's Water Quality Specialist. Joe is responsible for performing weekly, monthly and quarterly tests to ensure that drinking water delivered to homes meets all state and federal drinking water standards.

"My job is basically making sure that the water we are providing every day to our customers is safe and reliable, and meets all compliance standards," comments Joe. "I'm in the field testing water every day, it's what I do."

Joe is responsible for weekly sampling at 41 sites throughout the District, in addition to 29 reservoirs. All of his equipment is mobile, so he can test for data including temperature, turbidity, chlorine, hardness, pH and more on-site. Each data point gives operators valuable information about the water, for example temperature can indicate how fast the water is moving through the system. This information helps ensure consistent water quality. Joe also collects samples for bacteriological tests that are performed at Padre Dam's lab.

Joe was hired at Padre Dam seventeen years ago as a Temporary Utility Worker. Since that time, he has proven himself in multiple positions in both Operations and Engineering. Joe's knowledge of many different aspects of Padre Dam's distribution system serves him in his important role.

"Something as basic as water can appear simple, but the chemistry of how water reacts to chlorine, chemicals and minerals is very complex." Joe remarked, "At the end of the day we are here for our customers and are serious about providing them with the best possible product."

Joe served in the Marine Corps and encourages veterans to consider careers in the water industry. When he's not at work, he enjoys hiking and camping with his wife.