Quarter of a century service for a happy Chapy

Starting as a Construction and Maintenance Worker at SA Water’s Port Augusta Depot in 1984, District Leader Mark ‘Chapy’ Chapman has reached a milestone 25 years at SA Water and while much has changed over the years his love for his job and community hasn’t changed.

Employed in many roles during the past few decades, Mark and his current team manage the water and wastewater networks across a vast area of South Australia, from Oodnadatta and Marla in the north to Iron Knob and Kimba in the west, including local bore and spring systems.

Since 2008, Mark has led the Port Augusta Field Operations team as District Leader, a role he describes as both rewarding and challenging.

“It is strange to think that I've been with the company for a quarter of a century, but I consider myself extremely privileged to have been at SA Water in different roles for so long,” Mark said.

"The different locations, customers and types of work I perform makes every day interesting and keeps me motivated after all these years.

"One of the exciting projects that I will soon be a part of is helping to look after the new desalination-based systems at Oodnadatta and Marla, which will provide the townships with quality drinking water for the first time.

"The upgrades are set to come online this year, with our water attendants on site for anything that needs immediate attention, and my team will travel there every three months to read meters and perform preventative maintenance.”

In his 25 years, Mark has seen many changes in the business and is keen to pass on some of his experience to newer team members.

"With such a large area and a huge variety of systems to maintain, it's important to document as much of my knowledge as possible to pass onto new starters to access, when more experienced team members are travelling and not as readily available to share their expertise," Mark said.

SA Water’s Field Operations Regional Manager Shaun Northcott said the 25-year milestone is testament to Mark's hard work and perseverance.

“Mark is a highly valued member of our team and this milestone is great recognition of his hard work, dedication and commitment to both the business and our customers in Port Augusta and the surrounding communities,” Shaun said.

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