The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

Clarinda Lab Works with Harry Ridnour at the Helm

Harry Ridnour

Harry Ridnour runs the PeopleService Lab in Clarinda

Operator, Harry Ridnour, has been with PeopleService for 23 years. To say that Harry has passion for doing things right would be an understatement. “We strive to be highly accurate in our lab procedures and testing to give our clients the correct numbers of each sample being tested,” he said in a recent interview.

“The experienced, certified operators in all of our plants are very good at gauging where wastewater is in terms of clean. They use their senses and they do tests on-site. And, they pull the samples to be tested with regulated lab procedures. Some send them out. At Clarinda, for Clarinda and surrounding sites in Iowa and Missouri, we test on-site.

For lagoons, we give the green light for that wastewater to be released into the ecosystem. Non-lagoon plants have ongoing releases, so the real-time tests of samples are a critical complement to the treatment going on at the plant. If we see a level below standard, we get word to that plant to make adjustments stat,” Harry added.

The Clarinda lab is recertified every two years. “It’s an ongoing job, and sure, we’re underappreciated by people in the community – but that means we’re doing our job. City management appreciates what we do because we keep things running smoothly and safely. Our quality is the collective work of the power of PeopleService. We dot our i’s and cross our t’s daily in our plant and lab,” added Harry. “It takes team work to make the dream work.”