Member Spotlight -- Mike Furrey

Job: President, owner and licensed operator

Employer: Agra Environmental and Laboratory Services, Dover and Marlboro, NJ

Educational background: Graduated from Rutgers University, Cook College in 1987 with a BS in Chemistry.

Age:  51

Daily duties: Operate water systems, manage lab, financial planning, sign checks

What is the most exciting project you’ve worked on? I helped plan a corrosion control project to reduce lead levels for a water system that services 2 million people a day.

What is something unexpected you learned on the job?  That treatment for reducing lead in drinking water is not an exact science.

Goals?  To provide a company that helps protect public health and preserves our environment.

Do you have a role at your section and how did you become a volunteer? I am incoming chair for NJ section of AWWA in 2016. I was asked by chief engineer Dean Noll, whom I considered very influential in my career. Mr. Jerry Notte also asked me to volunteer on the education committee which introduced me to training various water professionals.

How long have you been a member and what have you gotten from your membership? 22 years. I have been blessed with being involved with training numerous people and helping them with their careers.

Why did you decide to go into the water field?  I always was interested in the environmental field.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career? Dealing with the politics involved with the industry and how to balance regulations and public health.

Toughest thing about your job? Employees and complicated regulations

 What’s your motto in life?  Do the right thing

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Musician

Hobbies and outside interests: Music, member of NJ Section band Water Hammer, golf, spending time with my four children, local politics