Long Beach 90H2O - Robert C. Cheng, PH.D., P.E.

Administration

Robert C. Cheng, Ph.D., P.E.
Deputy General Manager, Operations

Dr. Robert Cheng is Deputy General Manager of Operations for the Long Beach Water Department, where he has been employed since 1997. He reports to the Department's General Manager.

Dr. Cheng has a variety of responsibilities, including planning, coordinating, maintaining and organizing the city's water, sanitary sewer and support services operations. He ensures the delivery of service, maintenance, resource allocation, capital improvement, operational safety, technological requirements and security of water resources and related capital. In addition, he is responsible for the Department's water quality issues, including the operations of the 62.5 million-gallon-per-day Groundwater Treatment Plant and associated distribution system, four Water Quality Laboratories, and the Department's bottled water plant. He is also the primary Department contact with drinking water regulators, ensuring that compliance with present and future regulations is met.

Dr. Cheng began his career with the City in 1997 as the Department's Manager of Water Quality/Process. He was promoted to the position of Director of Operations in 2004, and subsequently, to the position of Deputy General Manager of Operations in 2005. Prior to joining the Department, Dr. Cheng worked as a process engineer with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (LaVerne, CA) where he performed numerous bench, pilot, and full-scale water treatment studies. Dr. Cheng also worked as a Senior Process Engineer for Black & Veatch Consulting Engineers (Kansas City, MO), conducting treatment studies for various utility clients. In addition, he has taught Water and Wastewater Treatment classes within the Civil Engineering Department at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Dr. Cheng is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California.

Dr. Cheng is active with drinking water industry organizations. He holds a B.E. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from UCLA.