Wastewater Tracking for Infectious Diseases

Sara Smith is Director of the Operations Support Services Department at Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES), which operates the wastewater collection and treatment system for the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Operations Support Services provides process engineering, research and development, training, job aid development, and laboratory services, and manages the industrial controls for MCES wastewater operations. Sara has worked for MCES for 16 years and was promoted to her current position in August 2021. She previously worked in the MCES Water Supply Planning and Sustainability departments and has led and participated in several strategic and change management projects as directed by the MCES General Manager’s Office. Sara has an undergraduate degree in geology and a master’s degree in science, technology and environmental policy.

George Sprouse is a manager in MCES’s Operations Support Services Department and oversees the Process Engineering, R&D, and Air Quality group. The group has 16 employees and includes engineers, scientists, a researcher, and a technician who provide technical expertise to support MCES operations, process efficiency, and regulatory compliance. George has worked for MCES for 16 years. He served as a principal engineer working on capital improvement projects for 4 years and has been in his current position for 12 years. Prior to joining MCES, he was a consulting engineer for 18 years. He is a registered professional engineer in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and California. George has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil/environmental engineering from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and a doctorate in the same field from Northwestern University.