For nearly 18 years, Brandon Coombs has made the same drive to work each day and has called Northern Water “home”. His career began in the field with the Distributions Department running water and performing operations and maintenance tasks along the system. Now, he’s part of the Water Scheduling team, helping allottees get the water they need when they need it.
The Water Scheduling department at Northern Water is often one of the first points of contact for many water users. This team answers general questions, processes water orders and helps water users check account balances.
When Brandon first started working with water accounting, the workflow looked much different.
"There was no web portal for entities to see their accounts; there was nothing," he said. "It was a lot of pen and paper and a lot of notepad math."
Today, water users can log into an online portal to view balances and place water orders. While technology has changed, Brandon says the team's purpose remains the same: making sure water is accounted for, delivered where and when it's needed, and managed responsibly.
“We’re making sure that it stretches as long as it can. And that it's used correctly, and we're doing it to where we're not wasting it. We’re being good stewards of the water.”
A big challenge this year: drought. Brandon said that while the daily tasks have not changed for him or his colleagues, there have been more eyes on where the water is going as well as the amounts and balances – all tracked by the Water Scheduling team.
“We're getting more calls from the water commissioners. And we're getting a little bit of uptick from people calling in from the general public asking, ‘How come this reservoir so low?’ Or ‘When are they going to start filling this reservoir?’”
The team also helps Northern Water partner agencies like Larimer County. During busy seasons, the county may request reservoir elevation projections to help plan for boat ramps and public access.
Despite the challenges, a great day for Brandon is simple. He enjoys helping customers, solving problems and seeing everything run smoothly.
After nearly two decades with Northern Water, one word comes to mind when he describes the organization: comfortable.
“Even with all the growth, I think we've still stayed in that good community feel,” he said. “There's tough days, but I don't think there's been a day that, I'm like, I really hate this job.”
