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Greg Venette

A smiling man wearing a City of Louisville cap stands outdoors.

Greg Venette, Utilities Superintendent at the City of Louisville

I have been the Utilities Superintendent at the City of Louisville for 1 year. My job is to oversee the operation, maintenance, and management of the city’s drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. I’m a musician and have a musical family. I’ve played in several bands on guitar, drums, and bass. My wife sings and plays piano, and my son plays several instruments.

My Path

Career Growth in Louisville

I got a summer job with a wastewater treatment and drainage authority while figuring out what to do after high school. I wasn’t sure college was for me, but at this job I was sure I’d found where I wanted to be. This work was really interesting, and I was lucky to come across it since no one was talking about it.

Private Sector

Working in the private sector for a large consulting firm helped me learn the business and utilities side of the job. I worked on many different projects and got to go to trainings and conferences, but I didn’t want to always be on the road.

 

Career Growth in Louisville

I’ve been at the City of Louisville for over 9 years, serving first as the Chief Plant Operator for 6.5 years, then the Water Superintendent for 3 years, and now I’m the Utilities Superintendent, which means I focus on all three of our drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. I never planned on being a manager, but life, opportunities, and the bosses I had  led me down this path and I haven’t looked back.

 

A man walks through a room filled with large blue pipes and other machinery.

My Work

I oversee the operation, maintenance, and management of the city’s drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. My work breaks out into the 4 P’s: Plant, people, permit, purchasing

  • Plant – I ensure our team is maintaining the mechanical processes of our plants and keeping the facilities running and doing well.
  • Permit – Permit requirements outline things we need to do to ensure our facilities and the water we treat are in compliance with state and federal regulations. We try to go above and beyond wherever we can.
  • Purchasing – We need to balance spending what we need to operate the facilities at a high level with what resource we have available.
  • People – This is the most important part. People are what make the other three parts of the job happen. I aim to maintain a positive work culture and keep staff happy and empowered.

Scales showing how this person's work breaks down. Most time is spent working with people, indoors, with work being an even split between distinct tasks and getting creative.

A man stands on a road, talking and motioning with his hands. A large water storage tank is in the background.

My Why

Good people and a good culture make it enjoyable to come to work. My current supervisors have been my mentors, and I’ve learned a lot from them – my career really took off by connecting with them and working through big challenges together, like the Marshall Fire. The work we do for the city and environment is valuable, and I can see its impact every day.

Then there is water conservation – our team works hard every day to minimize wasting water, a precious resource in the Mountain West. We work on this in a few ways, including process optimization, water loss monitoring, prioritizing conservation opportunities in water quality reports, providing tours to the public to build interest, and connecting with partners at organizations like Resource Central, who are experts at minimizing waste.

My Advice

Be curious and unafraid to jump into a problem – on our team the best idea wins, it doesn’t matter who it comes from, we want to hear everyone’s opinion.

Your life decisions are what make you who you are – don’t regret the choices or paths you took if it got you to where you wanted to be.