Photo: Trevor visits with students at Covillaud Elementary School during their career day.
Yuba Water Agency's utility worker, Trevor Reilly, is part of the team that is responsible for civil maintenance around the agency's facilities, including work around New Bullards Bar Reservoir, clearing roads, helping at the water treatment plant and more. Scroll to learn more about Trevor, his background and some of the activities he enjoys in his free time.
What is your background/formal education that led to where you are in your career today?
During high school, I was heavily involved in the Agriculture Program, taking welding classes, going to fabrication competitions and making projects to show at the fair. Starting this at a young age quickly showed me that a job like this would make me the happiest.
How did you get involved in your current career path?
Right out of high school I had the opportunity for a temporary laborer position with Yuba Water and was able to get some insight into how the Yuba River Development Project worked. I realized quickly that this was a career that I wanted to get into, so I signed up for Yuba College and took classes on welding and machining and started a course to get my water distribution operator license. After another temporary season with the agency and a year working for City of Yuba City, I was lucky enough to get hired full time.
Photo: Trevor and his friends pose next to a Yuba Water truck during the annual Marysville Christmas Parade.
What does your average day look like? Or what are some of your essential duties?
My average day consists of doing work outdoors, either spending a day on New Bullards Bar performing maintenance or being out in the woods clearing roads and paths to keep the project clean.
Do your duties differ throughout the year? And if so, how?
My job duties can vary throughout the year depending on the seasons and weather. During the spring and summer, most of my work will be done around the lake, working on buoy lines, floating comfort stations or debris removal. Throughout the fall and winter, weather can keep us busy with clearing debris slides on our roads, cleaning our diversion dams or doing other tasks around the facilities.
What do you enjoy most about working for Yuba Water?
My favorite part about working for the agency is the diversity of the work I do. I can go from working on the lake to assisting in our powerhouses during annual maintenance outages. The work here can always change and that keeps each day interesting and different.
Before working here, what was the most interesting job you had?
My most interesting job before Yuba Water was being a water distribution operator. My job was to take care of all the distribution service and main lines throughout Yuba City. I spent most of my time either working on leaking services or live drilling to set new mains.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I mainly like to spend my free time outdoors, whether that’s hunting, fishing, hiking or playing a round of golf.