Cuyamaca College is set to begin construction on a state-of-the-art
Center for Water Studies aimed at training the next generation of industry
professionals to manage and operate California’s complex water and wastewater
systems.
A groundbreaking
ceremony for the first component of the project – the Field Operations Skills
Yard – is scheduled for Nov. 9 at 9:30 a.m. next to the “L” Building at the
Cuyamaca College campus, 900 Rancho San Diego Parkway, in Rancho San Diego.
When completed, the Field Operations Skills Yard will include a fully
operational, above-ground water distribution and an underground wastewater
collection system that will enable students to apply their science, technology,
engineering and mathematics knowledge in a learning-by-doing, career-preparation
environment.
“Cuyamaca College
is a leader in workforce training for the water and wastewater industry, and
the Center for Water Studies will further strengthen our status as a
trailblazer in the profession,” said Cuyamaca College President Julianna
Barnes.
A California Community College Strong
Workforce grant is providing $192,000 for the Field Operations Skills Yard. Additional
contributions for the above-ground network of pipes, pumps, valves, meters and
other equipment is being provided by donations from the waterworks industry. A
National Science Foundation grant is providing $72,000.
The Field Operations Skills Yard is projected
to be completed in time for spring semester classes.
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Donald Jones |
“These fully operational water and wastewater systems
will be used to replicate many of the entry-level tasks employees perform as
they begin their careers in the water and wastewater industry,” said Don Jones,
the National Science Foundation grant manager who has helped spearhead the
creation of Center for Water Studies. “It’s the culmination of a many years
long pipe dream.”
The second component
of the Center for Water Studies involves relocating Cuyamaca College’s Water &
Wastewater Technology program to a renovated L Building, which sits next to the
Field Operations Skill Yard and which will be transformed to house, among other
things, a water quality analysis classroom and a shop area for backflow
prevention and cross-connection control training. In addition, two other
classrooms will be remodeled to accommodate approximately 40 water and
wastewater technology students each.