Savings Everywhere

The Birch Bay Water and Sewer District wastewater treatment plant is small, and so are its staff and community.In six years as operations manager for the district, based in Blaine, Wash., Mike Sowers has been given a green light to seek out improvements, even if it means spending some of his limited operations and maintenance budget.“My philosophy is that it’s better to improve than it is to just fix things,” says Sowers. “I get a lot of support from our commissioners, our management, our engineer and the crew. The savings have built our credibility and enabled us to keep doing