BS/MS in Environmental Science from Drexel University. Retired in 2022 after 40 plus years with the Philadelphia Water Department as biologist, researcher, water quality manager, administrative scientist, and laboratory director. Well published in AWWA's Opflow and Journal. Active in the Water Research Foundation for 30 plus years, serving on various committees and the Board of Trustees. Active on AWWA Committees. Served on Academies of Science and EPA committees. Specific expertise in water quality, distribution system water management, taste and odor control, aesthetic quality, water quality compliance, water safety planning, risk governance and communication, and emergency response to water quality threats. Editor of several books and author of Earthy with a Hint of Cucumber, available through AWWA bookstore.
Jim is a former Chair of the Pennsylvania Section AWWA, with over 30 years of water industry experience. He has assisted drinking water utilities throughout the United States and internationally to achieve operational excellence and optimization, with a special emphasis on coagulation and filtration. He is a recognized drinking water treatment and training expert, a licensed PE, a board-certified environmental engineer, and a Certified Waterworks Operator (PA). He has served as Chair of the AWWA Coagulation and Filtration Committee, is a past member of the AWWA B100 Standards Committee for Granular Media Filtration and a member of the AWWA Source Water Protection Technical Advisory Workgroup. He has been awarded the Ivan Glace Award by the Water Works Operators Association of PA for his substantial contributions to the industry. He holds both a BS and MS in environmental engineering from Penn State, and is a US Navy Submarine Force veteran. He has authored numerous AWWA and WRF publications and empowered hundreds of operators to self-perform operational evaluations and process optimization, especially with respect to coagulation, filtration, and residuals management. He is the primary author of director of the AWWA DVD, Filter Surveillance Techniques for Water Utilities. Has served as chair or participated multiple years on numerous PA Section Committees, including George Fuller Award, Sam Baxter Award, David Long Scholarship, and Conference committees. Also served as Board Liaison after Chair tenure to help guide transition to AMC management. Chaired and directed PA Section's first ever remote Annual Conference during COVID 19 pandemic. Successfully negotiated first beneficial use permits for water treatment residuals in PA, NJ, GA and CT. Pilot tested and gained approval for first US drinking water treatment plant use of peracetic acid (PAA). Life Member of AWWA.
For nearly 30 years, Christine Gunsaullus has been known as the "Tank Queen" in the water and wastewater industries. While her dual engineering degrees from Drexel University afforded her with technical expertise, it was hands-on experience with tank builders, painters, tank inspection firms, and operations staff that gave her a deep understanding of storage tanks. By seeing thousands of tanks of all materials, styles, and purpose over their lifespans, she learned what design decisions and elements would give an owner the best bang for their buck, and what really matters for long-term tank care. Christine now runs The Tank Queen, LLC, where she helps clients build and maintain their tanks, in addition to offering marketing and communications support for industry colleagues. A frequent speaker at regional and national conferences, she shares practical tank maintenance tips and strategies for preventing coating failures. Christine is the SE District Chair for PA-AWWA (PA American Water Works Association), and an active member of the Water Works Operators’ Association of Pennsylvania (WWOAP) and the PA Municipal Authorities Association (PMAA).