Sacramento County Regional Sanitation District (Regional San) and Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD) serve a 400-square mile service area, providing public infrastructure and municipal services to protect and enrich the daily lives of more than 1.6 million Sacramento County residents. Over his career, Prabhakar Somavarapu, former general manager of both districts, oversaw one of the largest infrastructure projects in Sacramento’s history, the $2 billion EchoWater Project, driven by California’s stringent new discharge requirements and most recently, Harvest Water, one of the largest recycling water projects in the state.

Brown and Caldwell sat down with Prabhakar before his retirement to reflect on his 25-year career with Regional San and SASD. Prabhakar covers how the workplace culture and environmental stewardship have advanced, how the Districts’ vision has evolved from a disposal service to a resource provider, the opportunities for people and facility operations powered by technology, and the three reasons why water will attract and be the industry of choice for STEM students.