City Manager Mike Van Milligen has appointed Water Plant Manager Denise Ihrig as Dubuque’s next water department manager, effective Jan. 1, 2017.
As water department manager, Ihrig will manage the operation and maintenance of the City’s water treatment facility, water distribution system, and its associated pump stations, water reservoirs, and wells and will ensure compliance with applicable state and federal regulations, including Federal Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. She will replace Water Department Manager Bob Green who will retire on Dec. 31, 2016, after more than 24 years with the City of Dubuque. The public is invited to attend a retirement reception for Green on Thursday, Jan. 12, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the River Room of the Grand River Center, 500 Bell Street.
“Denise brings with her to this position over 11 years of utility and environmental engineering and management experience,” said Van Milligen. “In her four years with the City of Dubuque, she has proven herself to be a talented and creative team member.”
Ihrig began working for the City of Dubuque as an environmental engineer in the engineering department in September 2012. She was responsible for the oversight and implementation of methods incompliance with the City’s five-year US EPA consent decree with the goal of eliminating sanitary sewer overflows. She also implemented Dubuque’s proactive fats, oils, and greases (FOG) inspection and management program, established new engineering design and specification standards in compliance with Iowa’s statewide urban design and specification (SUDAS) program. Ihrig was appointed water plant manager for the City of Dubuque Water Department in June of 2016 and has since managed the treatment and daily operations of Dubuque’s water treatment facilities (plant, wells, pumps, tanks, and towers). She also oversees water plant operators, policies and procedures and training programs and is responsible for regulatory permit compliance.
Before joining the City of Dubuque in 2012, Ihrig served as city engineer for the City of Freeport, Ill., and the City of Freeport Water and Sewer Commission from 2010-2012. In that capacity, she oversaw $20 million in upgrades to the water and sewer collection and distribution systems and restarted Freeport’s flood management program. Prior to that, she was employed by United Water (Suez Environment) in Freeport as project manager/utility director from 2007-2010, project manager/interim executive director from 2005-2007, and assistant project manager from 2002-2005. Ihrig holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Liverpool and is a licensed professional engineer (PE) in Iowa and Illinois.