John O’Neil, general manager of Johnson County Wastewater (JCW), was recently elected to serve as a Region 7 representative on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) during its 41st annual meeting, July 19-22, 2011.
O’Neil has been with JCW since 1989, first as the Director of Operations and Maintenance and since February 2006 as Wastewater General Manager.
As JCW’s General Manager, O’Neil oversees all aspects of the wastewater utility, including the Operations and Maintenance, Business Operations and Planning, and Customer Relations divisions. Engineering functions are divided between the Operations and Maintenance and Customer Relations divisions.
As Operations and Maintenance Director, O’Neil emphasized cross training and removing barriers between the operations functions and the maintenance functions. As General Manager, following recommendations of a recently completed Strategic Business Plan, he is coordinating the building of strong bridges between the three department divisions to provide a unified level and quality of service to JCW customers.
O’Neil is actively involved in current water quality and affordability issues at a national level.” “John brings a wealth of experience in the water pollution control field to contribute to the role of the Board of Directors of NACWA,” said Jeff Theerman, president of NACWA’s Board of Directors.
“I consider NACWA’s role as critical to achieving reasonable and affordable solutions to improving the water quality of our nation’s waters,” O’Neil said, “and I’m excited to become part of that solution.”
O’Neil has a Master of Education from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in Environmental Health Science from the University of Kansas. He holds the highest level of certification for both Collections System and Wastewater Treatment Operation in the State of Kansas.
NACWA is a nationally-recognized leader in environmental policy and a sought-after technical resource on water quality and ecosystem protection issues and enjoys a close working relationship with Congress and EPA in helping to shape the course of environmental protection.