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New utilities director outlines water and wastewater operations, capacities and risks
Summary
Danny Rowell, the recently appointed director of public utilities, presented operational details on Perris’ water and wastewater systems, staffing, plant history, capacities, and emergency response measures at the July 14 council meeting.
Danny Rowell, identified at the meeting as the city’s new director of public utilities, gave a 40-minute presentation July 14 describing Perris’ water and wastewater operations, staffing levels, treatment processes, infrastructure, and emergency response experience.
Rowell said the utilities department comprises the water treatment plant, wastewater plant, environmental services, a laboratory, one master electrician and one secretary; he said the department has 37 field positions and 40 budgeted positions and is “short 3.” He described the water plant’s role to make water safe and to provide distribution pressure for residents, industry and fire protection, noting “the minimum distribution pressure is 35 pounds PSI” and that the average distribution pressure at residences is “about 55 pounds.”
Rowell reviewed plant history and capacity: the water plant was built in 1965 with expansions in 1985 and 1995; the intake structure dates to 1923; with all raw-water pumps running the intake capacity is roughly 43–44 million gallons per day while the recent average was about 16 million gallons per day. He described a backup generator installed after a 2022 tornado and credited coordinated emergency response with private vendors for avoiding a prolonged outage.
The director explained treatment chemistry and operations (coagulation/flocculation, filtration, disinfection), the critical role of aluminum sulfate in coagulation, on-site chemical storage and the annual procurement process. He noted filter backwash volumes (roughly 135,000 gallons per backwash) and that backwash and sludge disposal are managed under a TCEQ-permitted process that requires renewal every five years.
Rowell said the plant treated about 5.7 billion gallons of water in 2024 and that the utilities laboratory performs roughly 205,000 water analyses annually. He answered council questions about contracts, pump and generator capacity and emergency procurement procedures.
No formal council action was taken; councilmembers thanked Rowell and asked that future presentations rotate through other utilities divisions.
