PeopleService is excited to announce that water and wastewater industry veteran Tim Gratke has joined its team as the director of consulting services, a new position that reinforces the company’s commitment to offering communities a growing list of services that meet their specific needs.
Gratke comes to PeopleService with 35 years’ experience in water and wastewater management in Minnesota. He looks forward to putting that experience to work for PeopleService’s partner communities across the state and eventually throughout the company’s entire Midwest coverage area.
“This is a great opportunity to share what I’ve learned and continue to expand on optimizing efficiencies for different facilities and not be locked into one. It’s exciting,” Gratke said.
Since 2015, Gratke has been wastewater manager for the City of Hutchinson, Minnesota. In that role, Gratke oversaw a $7 million budget with responsibility for managing a wastewater treatment facility consisting of oxidation ditch and MBR processes, biosolids handling and land application, regulatory permitting and compliance, and workplace safety.
Prior to Hutchinson, he was boiler and treatment plant operator for Verso Paper Sartell Mill in Sartell, Minnesota for 22 years. Gratke monitored and troubleshot operational processes for a 10 MGD activated sludge industrial wastewater treatment plant.
He carries a Minnesota Class A Wastewater License, a Minnesota Class B Water License, a Type 4 Bio-Solids License, a 1st-Class Steam Engineers License, and is OSHA 10 certified. Gratke also serves as president-elect and past section director of the Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association.
With PeopleService, Gratke oversees the company’s consulting offerings, which include permit renewal; phosphorous/mercury management plans; standard operating procedures, such as sewer cleaning and hydrant flushing; GIS mapping; facilities review and plant optimization; lab process and procedures; safety evaluations and recommendations; regulatory assistance; and staff training/mentoring.
PeopleService President Chad Meyer said Gratke is the perfect fit for this new position and the company’s ongoing commitment to meeting the water and wastewater needs of communities.
“Tim will be a tremendous asset to our partner communities. He understands the challenges that operators face daily and has proven to be a problem-solver, whether it’s facility upgrades, staffing challenges or compliance. He’s pretty much seen and done it all,” Meyer said.