The Invisibles: the Water Supply Operator

Jean-Claude Golliard is a Water Supply Operator. He works for the Aziende Industriali di Lugano and takes care of the water that reaches our homes: from the springs, from the lake, passing through the intake structures and the water-treatment plants.

His profession is not among the best known, or perhaps not known at all: the Water Supply Operator is an almost invisible figure. A Water Supply Operator certainly does not mind staying “behind the scenes”; Jean-Claude knows how to give the right value to what he does, and the dedication with which he does it can be felt when watching him at work and listening to his stories. And it is here that our interview begins.

Most of the time Jean-Claude spends in cool, hidden places—often dark and gloomy—that, once illuminated, reveal an explosion of colours. This multitude of bright colours has a very precise meaning: the colours of the pipes distinguish, for example, water that has already been treated from water that still needs treatment, or air from water. It is a functional and methodical beauty, composed of small gestures repeated with patience and constant attention, like a ritual that ranges from checking the state of the water and the tanks to monitoring all the parameters and meters.

Spending some time with Jean-Claude allowed us to understand better what happens during one of his shifts. We visited some of the facilities involved in the water’s journey and were able to discover the procedures and treatments that transform it into the water we drink every day—unaware of all this—from our home tap.

The Water Supply Operator works alone, always surrounded by water; he passes through tunnels and narrow spaces and then arrives in much larger halls, such as those that contain the intake basins. These spaces convey tranquillity and evoke memories of ancient, mysterious places. In these settings, where the sun never reaches, the sense of time seems almost to slow down.

Jean-Claude deals with water every day and yet never seems to tire of it. He recalls that he has always sought and appreciated contact with water sources—such as the lake, the river or the sea—outside his work. We also sensed this love for the element in other colleagues who helped us conduct this interview. Precious and necessary, it can also give us serenity or strength; for Jean-Claude it even has a memory of its own and seems to record all the information of the environment it touches.

Water, seen by those who explore every nuance of it, is an element of which we never have a complete experience. It can take different forms and have a different meaning for each of us. Water, after all—and despite this brief journey of discovery—remains, like the figure of the Water Supply Operator, still shrouded in an aura of mystery.

Watch the mini documentary (in Italian):