Name: Ross Grube
System: Newport City Water & Wastewater
Job Title: Grade 3 Wastewater Operator, Class 3 Water Operator
Tell us about your utility and its staff.
We’ve got four employees that work at the wastewater treatment facility, and we all do water treatment as well. The wastewater facility is an activated sludge facility. For water, we have arsenic removal. We’ve got two wells, a reservoir, and a water tower. And we actually will be getting a second water tower on hand shortly. The upper side of town has always gotten water from the Town of Derby, but soon we will be able to supply all of our own drinking water to the entire City of Newport. We also take in Derby’s sewer, since they don’t have a wastewater treatment facility.
Ross Grube
Name: Ross Grube
System: Newport City Water & Wastewater
Job Title: Grade 3 Wastewater Operator, Class 3 Water Operator
Ross Grube
Tell us about your utility and its staff.
We’ve got four employees that work at the wastewater treatment facility, and we all do water treatment as well. The wastewater facility is an activated sludge facility. For water, we have arsenic removal. We’ve got two wells, a reservoir, and a water tower. And we actually will be getting a second water tower on hand shortly. The upper side of town has always gotten water from the Town of Derby, but soon we will be able to supply all of our own drinking water to the entire City of Newport. We also take in Derby’s sewer, since they don’t have a wastewater treatment facility.
What is a typical day like for you?
When I come in, we do our morning rounds at the wastewater facility. Walk around the plant, check all of our chemicals, all of our pumps, all of our tanks, make sure everything is running smooth. Then we move on to check our water treatment facility, our water reservoir, and our water tower. Typically at that point that’s when we find if we have any issues or not, and that kind of outlines our day from there. Then we get started on any projects we need to work on.
How did you get started in the water resources industry?
I’d been a truck driver my whole life until the last three years. I was working at the [Newport] Public Works Garage. In June or July 2022, the Public Works Director asked if anybody wanted to go down to the wastewater facility to fill in for a little while, and I volunteered. It’s like it’s always been in my blood. I love it.
I’m pretty proud of my accomplishments so far in the field. I got my Grade 1 Wastewater, Grade 2 Wastewater, and Grade 3 Wastewater. I got my Class 3 Water certification and then recently passed my Grade 5 Wastewater and acquired that license. It was all in a matter of five months that I got all of my licenses. It was a lot of test-taking and a lot of studying, but it was so worth it.
Do you have any goals for your career?
I want be like Phil [Laramie, of Laramie Water Resources] and Wayne [Graham, of Vermont Rural Water] put together. I was lucky enough to work under Phil as a chief operator for a little while, and that guy’s just a wealth of knowledge. Same with Wayne, same with Elijah [Lemieux, of Vermont Rural Water]. I just try to suck up as much knowledge as I can. I took a microbiology class with Toni [Glymph]—eventually I want to be someone like that. I want to be a go-to person in the wastewater world. Not just here in Vermont. I want to make a name for Vermont and Vermont operators. I’m bound, determined, and set that I am going be something in wastewater. I think that my best attribute is I have so much to learn but I will learn it and I’m never going to stop.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The amount that there is to still learn. I feel like I will never ever know everything in this field and that kind of excites me. It’s one of those jobs that nothing’s ever the same. The plant could flip this week and we’d figure out exactly what we need to do to fix the problem. And the plant could flip five months from now the same way, but it’s not going to be the same fix. There’s just so much detail involved and that makes it kind of exciting for me.
What is your least favorite part of the job?
Probably cleaning the septage receiving. Newport gets a lot of septic receiving. Especially on a Monday morning, that’s the worst. You come in Monday morning and it’s plugged up, you’re like “Uugh!”
This can be a hard job that gets little thanks. What keeps you going?
It’s one of those fields that if no one is speaking about you, you’re doing a great job. And if someone’s talking about you, it’s because something bad happened. But I think what keeps me going is knowing that you have a job that’s so important to not only people but the environment, and no one knows anything about it. What keeps me going is wanting to teach other people about it, and how it’s so important to our environment and people as a whole. I think a lot of communities, not just Newport, could be better about opening the doors for residents to come in and see what their taxes are paying for.
Do you have any advice for other new operators?
Basically, stick to it and grind through. You’re gonna have your bad days, just stick to it. No matter if you feel like you’re learning or not, you’re learning. Every aspect in this industry is a learning experience. Take it and go with it.
Unfortunately I don’t feel like this industry has enough young people coming aboard because a lot of people don’t see it as a desirable job. For years when I was up at the Public Works Garage, I was like, “Never in my life would I ever work and a wastewater treatment facility.” And then I got down there and I was like, “Wow, this is awesome! This is cool.” The impact that it has on the environment, everything, is just—it’s a good feeling when you can go home at the end of the day and you know that you did your best and the plant is running at its optimal and everything is good.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I like to coach sports—baseball is the big one, I coach basketball and soccer as well, but baseball is my oldest son’s favorite sport. And hunt, fish, and hang out with the family.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Another one of my favorite things about this job is the camaraderie between everyone. The way everyone comes together in the wastewater world is amazing. When people are in desperate need, like during the floods, operators are there for each other. That’s a good feeling. I may not know somebody from a facility, but I’m going to be the first one to step up and say, “Hey, if we can help, we’re gonna help.” As operators, we all know how important it is. And being able to reach out to people for knowledge. No one knows everything about this field, it’s a matter of everyone coming together and the wealth of knowledge you have as a group.
Thank you, Ross, and to all of Vermont’s water and wastewater heroes who perform essential services to protect the health and environment of our communities!
Do you know a Water Hero who should be featured here? Email info@vtruralwater.org