Retired water services general manager turns talents to Wheel of Fortune appearance

Steve Schneider of Woodbury, Minnesota, is a licensed professional engineer and water operator who retired from Saint Paul Regional Water Services (SPRWS) last year after more than 30 years of service, including 17 years as general manager. Schneider has been an AWWA member since 1990 when he started as a project engineer at SPRWS. He was active with the Minnesota Section through committees and serving as its Section Chair. He now enjoys supporting his wife, Sharon, with a retail and wholesale business (ShaggyBaggy), fishing, golfing, and most recently, winning $20,000 on the Wheel of Fortune television game show.

Education: B.S. Civil Engineering, B.S. Geo-Engineering, University of Minnesota; Business Administration, Metropolitan State University

How and why did you get involved in the water sector? To be honest, there was not a deliberate effort to join the water sector when I graduated from college. I was interested in getting a full-time engineering position with benefits and worked for a few small municipalities in public works before landing a position with SPRWS. I loved the small, independent structure of SPRWS and had the benefit of being mentored by some great managers and supervisors over the years. I came to realize that being involved in the provision of reliable, quality drinking water was one of the most important aspects of a thriving city and was proud to be involved in providing that service.

What was one of the water quality challenges you were focused on before retiring? When I was nearing the end of my water career, I worked on setting a path to the completion of the largest water sector capital investment in the history of the State of Minnesota. The water treatment plant was nearing 100 years old. It produced water that was award winning (Partnership for Safe Water) but limited in its ability to treat emerging contaminants. I was able to get support from the Board of Water Commissioners and secure financing for a treatment plant project that brought this old technology up to current standards and added advanced oxidation options to meet future challenges that will be undoubtedly coming down the road as we improve our ability to detect contaminants at lower and lower levels. The project is now underway and will be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.

What do you think will be a key challenge for utility managers in 2050? First, emerging contaminants will be an ongoing challenge. The expectation that the water provided be of the highest quality is not going away, nor should it. Also, I have always believed that there is enough water in the world to provide for all the needs of its inhabitants. Unfortunately, there is an issue with the distribution of this precious asset. I live in an area that has enjoyed a sufficient quantity of water during my lifetime; however, much of this country’s population likes to live in a climate that is a bit different from Minnesota. These areas are typically drier and a bit warmer than the upper Midwest. Water providers do a great job of providing and treating the water that is necessary for their users. This may be more challenging as the climate changes and this unequal distribution becomes more polarized.

What are you proudest about from your career in water? After looking back at my career, I remember many small events where our utility and the SPRWS employees did awesome work when something went awry. It could be restoring water service after an unforeseen outage or dealing with a potential contamination issue. I was always so proud of our employees when they rose to the challenge that was in front of them. I’d like to think that I, in addition to our great management team, instilled that sense of duty in our employees who, ultimately, felt that same sense of pride in the services they provided that day.

Long story short, every person involved in the water industry can take pride in the fact that they provide a service that is absolutely necessary for a community to thrive and be successful. Each and every customer needs to have access to reliable quality drinking water and each of our 260 employees knew that they were part of a team that made that happen.

How have you benefited from your involvement with AWWA? National water organizations – especially AWWA – have allowed me to gain experience and associated knowledge from hundreds of colleagues across the globe. There is no greater benefit than to openly discuss issues pertaining to your work that others have tackled during their career. AWWA allows members to network with others in the industry to gain their insight and “insider” knowledge.

Please describe your family and/or hobbies and interests. My wife, Sharon, and I have been married for more than 34 years and have three grown daughters. I love to golf and fish with my brothers and friends, and enjoy being outdoors, even in the winter. Ice fishing is also one of my favorite things to do. Right now, I am all in with our home business, ShaggyBaggy, and am proud that we have had a record year for revenue in 2022. We have done a fair amount of domestic traveling since I retired, and we plan on continuing to do so while adding in some international travel in the next few years.

What is something that people would be surprised to know about you? Well, I did accomplish one of my dreams in the past few months. I was fortunate enough to get on the Wheel of Fortune television show as a contestant, and, due to some good fortune, did OK! I have watched the show with my family for years and actually went to a taping in 1985 when a college friend was a contestant. I was able to return to the stage 38 years later and meet Pat and Vanna as a contestant. 

After I retired, I applied to be a contestant and was lucky enough to be selected out of millions of applicants. I completed the audition and was chosen as a contestant a few weeks later. The entire experience was a blast, and I would recommend that anyone who knows/likes the show put an application in and give it a shot. You never know!