Linda and boyfriend Jay, dogsledding near Haliburton, Ontario

Reservoir inspection with Frank Smith, Region of Waterloo

Ontario Water Works Association, Public Affairs Committee. Back L to R: Davendra Borikar (WCWC), Ray Miller (Clow Canada), Karla Kolli (Dillon) Front L to R: Garry Boychuk (Toronto), Linda Wojcicka (AE), Carole Baxter (U of T)

With degrees in science and engineering, Linda Wojcicka brings unique perspectives to projects

Linda Wojcicka started her career in drinking water treatment with a Microbiology degree from the University of Alberta. Interested in water treatment, she pursued a Masters of Applied Science in Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto in the Drinking Water Research Group. Many different water treatment processes, including disinfection and biological filtration, combine microbiology and engineering principles, which appealed to Linda.

Linda’s focus in university was food/water microbiology. She says, “I like the public health aspect of water treatment – preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health.”

Switching from science to engineering was not an easy task. Linda relates, “I quickly realized that engineering is a different language altogether from what I’ve been used to – science. One way to explain it is: Scientists ask “why?” Engineers ask “how?”. Both are valid questions, one is geared towards investigation, the other to implementation. To be able to be fluent in both, I had to shift gears and look at problems from a new perspective. I guess I’m a hybrid of the two and bring experience from both sides and therefore hopefully a new perspective on things. The science side asks questions to obtain knowledge while the engineering side uses that knowledge to find solutions.”

Linda recalls her first interview with Associated Engineering. It consisted of “a chat with Practice Leader, Water Treatment, Elia Edwards at Second Cup. The experience was casual and comfortable. He made a good impression and encouraged me to try Associated Engineering out – so I did.”

About a year and a half after Linda began working for Associated Engineering, the company was awarded a Treatability Study Project that looked at Advanced Oxidation Processes for treating harmful chemicals in groundwater. Linda remembers, “Soon after I started, I realized that not many people in the company or even the industry knew too much about this topic. It was exciting to be part of a team that was ‘ahead of the pack’ in certain respects.”

Linda enjoys the nature of her work. “Every
project I’ve worked on has differed from the ones before; therefore, every one has been new and challenging. This keeps my job very interesting because I like variety.” As an example, “A while back we were asked by the Ontario First Nations and later by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to provide information on Point of Entry devices – another area that I learned no one really knew much about. Point of Entry devices treat water as soon as it enters a house, school, or any other small system.”

“This is especially useful for remote places or brand new developments where a distribution system is not in place to supply treated water from a centralized treatment system. There are many issues with this type of water treatment device since they are not yet strictly regulated and may be difficult to maintain and test for water quality. It was an interesting little side project that helped me learn about decentralized systems – an area that we don’t typically work in.”

Within Associated Engineering, Linda is involved with Toronto’s Young Professional (YP) Group and Wellness Committees. “As past YP Rep for the Toronto office, with the help of Vincent Laplante and Salma Dharsee, we organized several events and technical sessions for other YPs in the office. We encourage all YPs in our office to present on any projects they may be working on to the rest of the YP group, sharing their knowledge and developing their presentation skills. We also had several of our senior gurus (Ian Wright, Hans Wolf, Tony Barton and others) present on their area of expertise. I have since passed off the torch to Vincent, who is doing a great job!” Linda has also been involved in the inter-office mentoring partnership as part of the AE Mentorship Program.

Outside of Associated Engineering, she is involved in the Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA). Linda relates, “In my experience, getting involved in the Ontario Water Works Association has allowed me to learn new skills (leading a committee in my current role as Chair) and meet so many other people in the industry. Currently I’m on the OWWA Publications committee, the Communications committee, and I’m the Chair of the Public Affairs Committee. The Public Affairs Committee serves to encourage municipalities to communicate to their public about the value of drinking water. We believe that if people are educated and aware of what our industry does to provide safe drinking water, they will waste less and be willing to pay more for it, instead of turning to bottled water.”

In addition to her involvement in these various committees and groups, Linda still has time to pursue personal interests in her spare time. She enjoys cooking, volleyball, squash and recently picked up golf. She recently got a new addition to her family – a Boston Terrier puppy, which will undoubtedly keep her very busy!