[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E800-E801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DAVE SCHLESINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 15, 2001

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of the 
Director of the City of San Diego Metropolitan Wastewater Department 
(MWWD), Mr. Dave Schlesinger.
  Dave is retiring after more than a decade of service to the City of 
San Diego. During that time he was responsible for managing the 
planning, design and construction of facilities associated with the 
upgrade and expansion of the Metropolitan Sewerage System which 
provides wastewater treatment services to 1.9 million residents from 
the fifteen cities and districts in the greater San Diego area.
  As director of MWWD, Dave headed a team of more than 1,000 employees 
and full-time consultants, that are also responsible for wastewater 
collection services for the City of San Diego. The MWWD treats the 
wastewater generated in a 450-mile-square-mile area stretching from Del 
Mar to the North, Alpine and Lakeside to the East, and South to the 
Mexican border. I worked with Dave on a number of projects critical to 
San Diego. He

[[Page E801]]

was a key member of the team that successfully attained legislative 
approval of the so-called 301(h) waiver for the Point Loma waste 
treatment plant. This action saved literally billions of dollars for 
the taxpayers of San Diego. Without Dave's technical expertise and 
political acumen, we would not have been successful in this effort.
  Dave's talents were also critical to last year's Congressional 
approval of the Bajagua project to treat Mexican sewage. Dave helped to 
develop the innovative public-private partnership that promises to 
solve a 50-year-old problem plaguing San Diego. We always relied on 
Dave's ``sense of the possible''--both politically and technically--to 
get over the many obstacles we faced over several years.
  Dave is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, 
Maryland where he received a Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds 
a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of 
Technology in Atlanta. He is a registered professional engineer in the 
Civil Discipline. He has had nearly 30 years of experience in planning, 
engineering and construction project management and facilities 
management. Prior to his service with the City of San Diego, he served 
as a U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps officer for 25 years. He retired 
with the grade of Captain. Dave is a member of the Society of American 
Military Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers and 
the Navy League of the United States. He is also involved in numerous 
technical and professional societies in the San Diego area.
  The City of San Diego will greatly miss the services of Dave 
Schlesinger.

                          ____________________