Catherine O'Connor

Catherine O’Connor is the Director of Engineering for the MWRD. The Engineering Department is responsible for planning, design and construction of projects prioritized in the Capital Improvement Program and projects in the Stormwater Management Program. The department also administers the county-wide Watershed Management Ordinance and regulates the construction and maintenance of local sewers which are tributary to the MWRD’s intercepting sewers. Catherine is involved in the efforts to manage stormwater to build a resilient community and efforts to transform MWRD operations from waste treatment to resource recovery operations, particularly with phosphorus recovery and methane utilization projects.

Catherine is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Illinois and has earned a Doctoral degree in Environmental Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology. Her doctoral research focused on removal and recovery of silver from dilute solution to support water reuse in industry.