Date: Fri 15-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

health-environmental-McCarthy

Full Text:

health with photo: New Environmental Health Director Settles Into A Busy Town

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Donna M. McCarthy's impression of Newtown, in the less than two weeks she has

worked here, is that there's a lot going on in town. Even something as simple

as going out for lunch can pose a challenge.

"Between the sewer construction on the roads and the residential development,

there's a lot happening," she said. "It's particularly busy with everyone

trying to get as much done as possible before the onset of winter, when the

ground freezes."

Ms McCarthy, 34, is the Newtown Health District's new environmental health

director. She was hired to replace Kathleen M. Purches, who resigned in

September because of her husband's job transfer to Georgia.

A native of Ridgefield, Donna McCarthy spent the last 10 years working for

Consulting Environmental Engineers, Inc., of West Hartford, where she was

assistant manager of the company's municipal services group. She is a graduate

of the University of Connecticut, having earned a bachelor's degree in

renewable natural resources in 1986, and worked for the state's Department of

Health Services, Water Supply Section.

"I was always very concerned about the environment, particularly in the water

supply," she said. "The world's water resource is a finite supply - what we

have is all that we are going to get. It's important that it be managed

properly."

Even though Connecticut appears to be a very rural state, it is very densely

populated for its size, she said. But because water is "dirt cheap," whether

it comes from a residential well or a water company, most residents don't

think about the fact that the supply of potable water is limited.

From water supply, her interest extended into waste water treatment.

"As assistant manager of Consulting Engineer's municipal services group, I

worked for towns all over the state," she said. "I've taken projects from

concept development through the planning phases and ultimately to

implementation, including the public participation and approval process. I've

seen them from the federal, state and local perspective - which gives you a

lot of diplomacy."

As part of the Newtown Health District, Ms McCarthy oversees environmental

services associated with wells, septic systems, soil testing and plan reviews,

plus the inspection and monitoring of public and private facilities for

compliance with public health codes.

She became a registered sanitarian this year, passed the Connecticut Engineer

in Training (EIT) exam two years ago and recently took the state's

professional engineer (PE) exam, the results of which won't be available for

several months.

Although she hasn't done a restaurant inspection yet, she's comfortable with

the prospect.

"I've had a lot of restaurant experience, having worked weekends for my mother

for 14 years. She owns the Corner Pub in Ridgefield," Ms McCarthy said.

Besides helping her mother, Donna McCarthy started a business two years ago -

almost as a hobby - when she became a Mary Kay representative. "I fell in love

with their skin care products," she explained. "So that (business) seemed

logical too."

"Newtown is a lovely town. My grandmother, who is 86, just moved into Ashlar

and I'm so happy for her," she said. "It's great for me, because I'm going to

be spending a lot of my time here, too."